NEW DELHI, Sept 21: Former Test captain Dilip Vengsarkar is expected to take over as India's chief selector when the cricket board holds its annual meeting next week, an official said on Thursday.

Vengsarkar emerged the strongest candidate to replace Kiran More, who has completed four years in the job and is not eligible for re-nomination at the annual meeting in Mumbai on Sept 27 and 28.

The selection committee comprises one elected representative from each of the five zones demarcated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the most senior person is elected the chairman.

The Mumbai-based Vengsarkar, 50, will be nominated by the West Zone in place of More, whose last year as chairman was marked by the controversial sacking of Test captain Saurav Ganguly.

“Dilip is an ideal candidate for selector considering his vast experience as an international cricketer,” West Zone official Ratnakar Shetty said.Vengsarkar, who retired in 1992 after a 16-year career as a top-order batsman, played 116 Tests and scored 6,868 runs at an average of 42.13 with 17 centuries.

He also played 129 One-day Internationals and captained India in 10 Tests, winning two and losing five while three were drawn.

Former left-arm spinner Venkatapathy Raju is set to replace V.B. Chandrasekhar as the selector from South Zone, according to zonal representative Shivlal Yadav.

Three other selectors, Ranjib Biswal (East Zone), Sanjay Jagdale (Central) and Bhupinder Singh (North) are expected to be re-nominated. None of them played Test cricket.—AFP