The Indian cricket team selection committee cut down the five-member national selection panel to three members as per recommendations by the Supreme Court appointed Lodha committee.

After BCCI clearly told to reduce the number of the members, Jatin Paranjpe and Gagan Khoda have been removed from the board’s senior selection panel.

Indian Today reported the decision was taken after BCCI CEO Rahul Johri received an email on Wednesday evening from Lodha committee asking him to drop two selectors.

As per the recommendations, the senior selection committee will now be a three-member team and all of them should have played Test cricket for India.

However, amid the administrative crisis the BCCI had gone ahead with the selection committee meet for the England series on 6 January with five members including Paranjpe and Khoda, who have not played Test cricket.

Lodha Committee secretary Gopal Sankaranarayanan said in an email reply to Johri ahead of the team selection, “The present committee is permitted as an exception to make the selections indicated. Going forward, it will have to be strictly in terms of the Supreme Court judgement.”

All the former Test players Devang Gandhi, Chairman MSK Prasad and Sarandeep Singh meet the Lodha committee recommended eligibility criteria while Paranjpe and Khoda had only played four and two ODIs respectively.

In September last year, the BCCI has announced this new panel. The Supreme Court in a historic ruling in has sacked BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke from their respective posts.

Besides removing these two top officers, the court also ordered all the office bearers of BCCI and state associations to give an undertaking that they will follow the Lodha committee’s recommendations.