Ravi Timbawala displaces Micheal Voss as USA Chief Selector

In a surprising move, USA Cricket have replaced their entire national selection committee ahead of the National T20 set to start on Thursday. Ravi Timbawala has displaced his Los Angeles city mate Michael Voss 

Timbawala will be assisted by Sunny Sohal, Barrington Bartley, Ritesh Kadu and Nasir Jamali. 

The appointment comes in the wake of ex SL International Shehan Jayasuria’s letter to the board claiming ‘inconsistencies’ in selection policies for the zonal squad selection. 

Apart from Voss, who served as the chairman for four years, Niraj Patel, Amer Afzaluddin, Orlando Baker and Clayton Lambert were removed three months before the start of the T20 World Series. The departing selection panel faced backlash for omission of players such as Jayasuriya, former Pak international Sami Aslam, Cameron Gannon, Brody Couch and Jahmar Hamilton from zonal sides. 

Timbawala’s appointment comes with its share of interest considering his status and age as an active player. He last made an appearance for USA in 2017 but represented the SoCal Lashings in the Minor League T20 2023. Likewise, Jamali, 34, last played for the US in the year 2015 but has been an active figure in the Minor League T20 representing the Dallas Mustangs as recently as 2023. Even though, greenhorn appointee Timbawala and co will have their work cut out over the forthcoming months in picking the final 15 that has led to great contemplation and debate among the US cricket fraternity. 

The USA qualification of players such as Harmeet Singh, Corey Anderson, Andries Gous and Unmukt Chand and the ignorance towards American talents like Gannon and Hamilton by the former selection committee is set to add selection headache woes for the Timbawala. The lack of USA fixtures in the lead up to the showpiece event  would mean the new committee will mostly rely on the national T20 and the Minor League T20s of the past to devise a potential pool of players to name the final squad for the World T20 Series.