New Delhi: The newly-appointed selection panel has a tough task in hand on its very first day in office - select squad for the first two Tests against Australia. When former India captain K Srikkanth takes the hot seat as the chairman of the selection committee, he will have to keep it in mind that selection no longer is an honorary job. One wrong decision and he might have to feel the heat like none of his predecessors had to. From now on, selectors will be entitled to huge pay packets. So, it's no more a thankless job!

Dilip Vengasarkar & Co ended their tenure successfully but despite all successes, some decisions did not really looked just and had their fair share of criticism. Take the instance of Sourav Ganguly, who was excluded from the squad for Irani Trophy on the grounds of poor form and fitness in Sri Lanka. On paper, Ganguly's record was no worse than Sachin Tendulkar or for that matter any other Indian batsman but he was first to get the axe.

It will be a tough call for the five men at the helm, whether to pick or drop Ganguly. If he's in, his exclusion from Irani Cup would look even more ridiculous. If he's left out then reasons for that would be very much applicable to other seniors as well, Sachin Tendulkar to be precise.

So, it's not only a crucial day for Ganguly but also a testing one for Srikkanth and his four knights. Will the new panel be gutsy enough to measure everyone's performance on the same scale?