The BCCI has opened five seats on its Junior Cricket Committee and set Sept. 5 as the deadline for applications. The new panel will be expected to do more than pick age-group sides: it will also be asked to promote strong ethical values among young cricketers and build awareness of drugs, betting and match-fixing through contact with senior and former players.
According to NDTV, a BCCI official told PTI that the board sees the issue as one that has to be tackled early because young players are vulnerable and U-19 cricket now carries its own share of money and fame. The committee’s education brief, as quoted in the board’s release, is to promote strong ethical values among young cricketers, including awareness around drugs, betting and match-fixing.
The applicants have to be former players with at least 25 first-class matches to their name, and they must have retired at least five years ago. Anyone who has already served on a BCCI cricket committee for a cumulative five-year period is not eligible.
The new committee will replace the current five-member panel headed by S. Sharath, with Krishan Mohan, Ranadeb Bose, Pathik Patel and Harvinder Singh Sodhi also on it. That group was appointed in September 2021 and has completed its five-year term.
Its last assignment will be to pick the Rest of India U-23 squad for the Junior Irani Cup, the contest that pits the CK Nayudu Trophy champions against the ROI U-23 side. After that, the incoming panel will take over age-group selections up to Under-22 level for coaching camps and for India’s junior fixtures against domestic and international opposition, in India and overseas.
The remit is broad. The committee will scout and assess players in domestic and international matches, help select teams for camps, tours and tournaments, vet coaches and support staff such as physiotherapists, trainers, therapists, analysts and medics, appoint captains across formats, and oversee the performance and development of junior sides through periodic evaluation reports.
It will also organise BCCI junior tournaments and overseas junior tours, and handle conduct and administration matters. Ommcom News said the current panel’s five-year tenure included India’s victories in the 2022 and 2026 Men’s U19 World Cups, under Yash Dhull and Ayush Mhatre respectively. It also noted that Thilak Naidu briefly replaced Sharath in 2023 before Sharath returned to the role in 2025.
