No selectors in place, RCA ad hoc panel fields observers

Jaipur: Thirty-six Colvin Shield matches have wrapped up across Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur in just four days, with players braving blistering heat to stake their claim for a spot in the Rajasthan senior team for the 2026–27 domestic season. Yet, with the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) ad hoc committee yet to announce the official selection panel for upcoming BCCI tournaments, the critical task of evaluating these performances has raised serious questions.The Times of India has learnt that the RCA ad hoc committee has appointed a group of ‘observers’ to fill in for the missing selectors in the interim. Comprising former players and selectors, these observers are currently the sole talent scouts tracking the action across all three host districts.The seven appointed observers are Siddharth Joshi, Ankit Lamba, Abhijeet Sharma, Rajiv Rathore, Pranay Sharma, Kishan Choudhary, and Sumit Mathur.The official selection committee is expected to be announced shortly, after which the observers will submit their performance reports directly to the new selectors and RCA management.However, the move has drawn sharp criticism from a section of district selectors and coaches. “Why are they holding the Colvin Shield at this time when the weather is so unfavourable and the selection panel is also not in place? Observers are there only to see if the matches are conducted properly. They are not the ones to select players. A few observers are also the ones who have faced corruption charges in the past,” said a district selector on condition of anonymity.A district association coach echoed similar sentiments while adding that the state-level tournament’s standard has fallen drastically with no serious effort being put in by the people in charge. “The pitches being used are the ones on which corporate matches are played at night. Which management and curator allows that to happen? Also, majority of the senior players aren’t turning up to play these games because of heat and they will cite medical issues and escape, and yet get selected in the team. Is this how you will prepare players for India?” questioned another district official.The 10-over MPL-4 tournament is currently being played under floodlights at Wonder Cement Cricket Academy Shikarbadi Cricket Ground in Udaipur, which is an independent event not approved by the RCA or BCCI.Meanwhile, the selection delay comes despite the ad hoc panel inviting applications for men’s and women’s selection committees across various age groups on May 6, with a strict deadline of 5:00 PM on May 15.