Aashish Kapoor replaces Venkatesh Prasad in junior selection committee

Former India off-spinner Aashish Kapoor has replaced Venkatesh Prasad in the All-India Junior Selection Committee.

BCCI's Acting President CK Khanna congratulated Kapoor, saying: "I wish him all the very best for this endeavour. I am sure he has a lot to offer when it comes to being a part of the junior selection committee with his varied expertise and experience in the game. India have a rich talent pool and it is important to identify the talent at a young age and nurture them," Khanna said.

The 45-year-old Kapoor played 4 Tests and 17 ODIs for the Indian team, has also been part of the Delhi Daredevils set-up, as well as the India-A side. He was also part of the 1996 World Cup squad.

He played a total of 128 first-class games and represented Punjab and Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy.

The other two members that have been added are Gyanendra Pandey and Rakesh Parikh.

"They had to make way because the other three (Prasad, Gyanendra Pandey, and Rakesh Parikh) were appointed in September 2015 and these two (Kapoor and Amit Sharma) in 2016. Now with Venky gone, it's only fair that Ashish makes a comeback as he has better credentials than Amit".

"He will, in any case, be the only Test cricketer in the junior panel. Unless Committee of Administrators (CoA) has something completely different on their mind, it's going to be Ashish," an official had told The Times of India last month.

"Since selectors can only be replaced in an AGM, BCCI for past one year has been paying Kapoor his monthly salary", an official told PTI.

After his resignation, Venkatesh Prasad was named as the bowling coach of the Kings XI Punjab and will be part of the franchise for the eleventh edition of the IPL that begins on April 7.