Srikkanth tipped to succeed Vengsarkar

KOLKATA: The BCCI may have decided tostart paying its selectors, but the hunt for 'right' candidates is turning outto be arduous. There is no shortage of keen ex-players, but the problem is thatmost lack the stature and experience. Almost every former Testcricketer has a lucrative TV assignment that pays much more than BCCI's packageof Rs 25 lakh per annum.The BCCI has not made it any easier foritself by laying down certain eligibility criteria like candidates should haveretired 10 years back and that they cannot hold any post in any stateassociation. There is every possibility that these requirements will either bemodified or scrapped by the AGM under pressure from several units.IfBCCI insiders are to be believed, current chairman of the selection committee,Dilip Vengsarkar, is on his way out. He is likely to be replaced byTamil Nadu's Krishnamachari Srikkanth. The dashing opener of yesteryears has hisfingers in too many pies, including IPL outfit Chennai Super Kings, but the lureof the limelight may draw him into the fold.It's an interesting racein East Zone where the CAB is set to appoint Sambaran Banerjee as its chairmanof selectors when the BCCI has narrowed down its choice to two - Gopal Bose andRaja Venkat. Narendra Hirwani is the frontrunner from Central Zone,while former selector Yashpal Sharma may get a second chance from North. Thesituation is fluid in West Zone, where it's a close fight between LalchandRajput and Yajurvindra Singh.