Farokh Engineer names Virat Kohli's wife Anushka Sharma in controversial swipe at selectors; actor terms allegations 'ill-intended lies'

Former India wicket-keeper Farokh Engineer sparked a controversy on Thursday after he said that the BCCI selectors are not qualified enough to sit in the selection panel. He called them a Mickey Mouse selection committee. Engineer went on to say that during the ODI World Cup in England and Wales, he saw one of the selectors serving tea to Anushka Sharma, an established Bollywood actor, also the wife of Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli. “Virat Kohli has a major impact (in the process) which is very good. But how are the selectors qualified? Between them, have they played about 10-12 Test matches. I didn’t even know one of the selectors during the World Cup and I asked him ‘who the hell he was’, because he was wearing the India blazer and he said he was one of the selectors,” Engineer told Times of India. “All they were doing was getting Anushka Sharma cups of tea. I feel people with the stature of Dilip Vengsarkar should be in the selection committee,” he added. Anushka responded to the comment made by one of India’s veteran cricketers, saying that her name should not be dragged while making sensational statements over developments in Indian cricket. She put out a statement on Twitter, where she wrote that she attended just one match during the World Cup and watched it sitting in the family box and not the selectors’ box. “If you want to have a comment on the selection committee and their qualifications please do so as it’s your opinion but don’t drag my name in to substantiate your claim or sensationalise your opinion,” Anushka wrote.

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— Anushka Sharma (@AnushkaSharma) October 31, 2019

Farokh, who has played 46 Tests and 45 ODIs for India, criticised CoA as well, saying that they have pocketed huge amount but did little to implement the Lodha reforms.