MUMBAI, Sept 27: Former Test captain Dilip Vengsarkar was elected India's chief cricket selector on Wednesday with ex-spinner Venkatapathy Raju also joining the five-man panel, officials said.

Vengsarkar took over from Kiran More, who completed four years in the job and was not eligible for re-nomination under the rules of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Raju replaced V.B. Chandrasekhar, while Ranjib Biswal, Sanjay Jagdale and Bhupinder Singh retained their posts at the BCCI's annual general meeting.

The selection committee comprises one elected representative from each of the five zones outlined by the BCCI. The most senior person is made the chairman.

Of the five selectors, only Vengsarkar and Raju have played Test cricket.

Vengsarkar, 50, was nominated by the West Zone in place of More, whose final year as chairman was marked by the controversial sacking of Test captain Saurav Ganguly.

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 with three draws.

“Dilip is the right man for the post, with his past experience of top-class cricket. There can be few better candidates than him in India,” said BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah.

Meanwhile political heavyweight and federal agriculture minister Sharad Pawar was re-elected BCCI president unopposed for a fresh two-year term.

The Pawar team of secretary Shah, joint-secretary Mahinder Pandove and treasurer N. Srinivasan were also re-elected unopposed for another two years.—AFP