MUMBAI, July 24: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) seems to have woken up to the harsh realities facing the game in the recent past. A step in the right direction was taken by the BCCI selection committee today when they decided to defer the selection of the 16-member squad for the forthcoming Test and One-Day series in Sri Lanka till the Asia Cup final on Satruday.The alteration in the team was scheduled for this afternoon, but sensing the buoyant mood in the Indian camp in Colombo, the selectors - Ramakant Desai, Shivlal Yadav, Sambaran Banerjee, Kishen Rungta and MP Pandove - ceded to the Indian skipper Sachin Tendulkar's request of delaying the announcement till the summit clash against Sri Lanka.The BCCI acting secretary and convenor of the selection committee, Jayant Lele said while revealing the selectors' decision, ``the selection committee had a detailed discussion regarding the selection of the team but in view of the Asia Cup final, the team management requested the selectors not to name the team till the final was played. The selectors were unanimous in authorising the chairman of the committee - Ramakant Desai - to decide upon the squad after due consultation with the team management on Saturday.''Desai will be speaking to skipper Tendulkar, coach Madan Lal and manager Prof Ratnakar Shetty on the day of the final, following which the team will be announced the same afternoon at the BCCI office here. ``But the changes will be from the probables who attended the Bangalore camp,'' affirmed Lele.Despite the selectors discussing the general composition of the team for almost 25 minutes with the team management on telephone, their decision to uphold Tendulkar's appeal has to be viewed in the post-Asia Cup team selection happenings. The Indian captain had aired his displeasure at the team composition for the ongoing overs-limited tournament. Even Desai was reportedly unhappy, raising a big question mark over the credibility of the selection committee.Besides, the composition of the team being known to the media in Bangalore much before the team was to be announced, has not gone down well with the BCCI bosses. The BCCI president Raj Singh Dungarpur met the selectors prior to meeting this afternoon and conveyed his displeasure over the issue, it was learnt. ``Raj Singh (Dungarpur) had a 15-minute talk with the selectors before they met,'' confirmed Lele.In the event, Tendulkar finally appears to have a say in the formation of the team if today's happenings are any indication.The Indian team returns from their Lankan sojourn on August 25 after which they proceed to Toronto for the Sahara Cup five-match one-day series followed by a three-match overs-limited series in Pakistan to be played on September 28, 30 and October 2. ``The team for the twin limited-overs series will be selected on August 27 in Mumbai,'' Lele said.NOTHING OFFICIAL ABOUT IT: The match-fixing allegations afflicting the Indian team, worsened by Pakistani Test discard Rashid Latif's shocking disclosures to Outlook, had its reverberations during the press briefing too.When queried as to why the BCCI has not come out with an official statement on the issue, Lele was quick to point to the one-man inquiry commission instituted by the Board, but failed to give an explanation on the `official' part.
