Nets continue, selectors pay visit

With no coaching staff on Wednesday morning, Anil Jain (in white
shirt) and Maqsood Karim (in yellow shirt) handled the nets.  

A day after the appointment of selection committee panel, chairman of selectors Vinay Lamba and co-selector Hari Gidwani made an appearance at Delhi’s Ranji Trophy nets, on Thursday.

Govt nominees step in to save the day, name Ajay Jadeja as Delhi coach, set up selection panels

Tuesday ended on a bitter note for many officials at the home of Delhi cricket. All the top warring Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) officials got kicked on their backside as the government nominees swung into action following confusion over the appointment of coaches and selectors. With the judges, overseeing sports working committee elections, not declaring the results even after two weeks have passed and they’ve been into the election process for about 80 days, DDCA’s government nominees finally put their foot down and took a strong decision, appointing two sets of selectors – for junior and senior cricket and also appointing Ajay Jadeja as the chief coach of Delhi cricket.

That should put the catfight among officials to rest, at least for now. In DDCA’s parlance, ‘government nominees ne officials ko phatte lagaya’.

The three nominees, Parvesh Verma, Rajan Tiwari and Sunil Yadav sent out a letter saying they had been upset with the news stories published across all newspapers on Saturday, the 12^th September, that ridiculed DDCA’s factionalism which resulted in three sets of teams going out to the press. Equally worse was the tussle over appointment of coaches and mentor.

The trio stated that they are appointing Ajay Jadeja as chief coach of Delhi replacing Vijay Dahiya from last year. Dahiya had been a favourite of Vinod Tihara group. The nominees have set up a senior selection committee, which will look after the Ranji Trophy and U-23 teams with Vinay Lamba as chairman. Hari Gidwani and Rahul Sanghvi will be the other two selectors in the three-member panel.

The three-member junior selection committee will be chaired by Nikhil Chopra, who will be assisted by Suresh Luthra and Sunil Valson.

The government nominees had proposed this and the proposal was duly signed by the 12 directors.

It has been learnt that vice-president Chetan Chauhan has threatened to resign from the post following this decision. He had proposed the name of Madan Lal as mentor, which was protested by Vinod Tihara group. Surinder Khanna was appointed as assistant coach by Ashok Sharma group. After attending the first day of nets, he didn’t appear on the second day.

Apparently, captain Gautam Gambhir was annoyed at all the events and didn’t turn up on the second day when the Delhi team only had their warm-up and fitness exercises. There is a belief that he had a whiff of things to come so he didn’t attend the camp.

Amid all this confusion and expecting that there will be brouhaha over selection of the team, the nominees took this strong step. Some unconfirmed sources say that the push had come from the top echelons of polity, the finance minister of the country, who had been the president of the DDCA till last year and who was apprised of the situation.

Whatever be the case and whoever was behind this, the decision has at least saved Delhi cricket’s face for the time being.

Gambhir turns up on first day of nets as judges' blunder puts cricket in limbo

The scene in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) is grim to say the least. And with both the warring factions at loggerheads and closely tied following the sports working committee elections, there is little chance any one will give way. And there is no chance of announcement of a result anytime soon. Which means cricket will continue the way it has been and there will be push and pull from both the factions regarding players’ inclusion.

After days of speculation, Monday eventually saw the camp starting with captain Gautam Gambhir leading the charge. There were about 40-45 players under his wings. Anil Jain, of the Vinod Tihara faction and who had signed one of the three teams, was there as net coordinator and looked pretty cheerful in his office. Surender Khanna, who had been appointed assistant coach in the list sent out by the DDCA executive committee director Ashok Sharma too was there at nets. Madan Lal, who has been appointed mentor by Chetan Chauhan who also sent out a list, will most likely join on Wednesday as he has taken off on Monday and Tuesday. He had told the Hindustan Times newspaper that he will turn up only when things get sorted.

However, the crux of the matter has been the judges’ decision and how they blundered on a simple process. Normally, you don’t question judges’ decision. However, they could have easily avoided all this confusion by first deciding on the ownership of the five disputed clubs and then going ahead with the elections. That they didn’t, has brought the situation to such a pass.

They could have easily let the decision on the ownership be sent to the court or could have allowed both the factions of the two clubs to vote. But they didn’t and first went for the elections. Had the election results been one-sided then there would have been no issue. But unfortunately, the results have come down to a very close fight, 6-4 in Tihara’s favour. Now whichever faction he favours with his decision in the case of ownership of the five clubs, the other one is bound to go to the court as the stakes are high. So as of now the judges’ decision to drag this on for so long and get the priorities wrong has put the entire sports committee in a limbo and open to compromises.  

Three teams for Delhi Ranji, which one is the right one!

By now you may have gleaned the papers as to what is happening in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). We don’t need to tell you that three lists of probables have been sent out for the Delhi Ranji camp and that apart from an issue over players, there is a brouhaha over the choice of coaches.

While Chetan Chauhan is hell bent on having Madan Lal as the head coach-cum-mentor, the rival Vinod Tihara group, who form last year’s sports working committee, have not named anyone as coach. They have put the onus on captain Gautam Gambhir and want him to handle the team.

Gambhir was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times as saying that he is still not aware of the team, coach or the plans. “I have no knowledge of the team, camp, coach or how things will progress. I have been preparing for the upcoming season at a personal level. However, as far as the squad is concerned, I am yet to be informed. This is DDCA’s job,” he was quoted by the Hindustan Times.

Interestingly Gambhir and last year’s Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya gel well. The two formed a team during last year’s Ranji season and have had a successful partnership in the Indian Premier League at the helm of Kolkata Knight Riders. Dahiya has supposedly been the man being pushed by Vinod Tihara’s group. And Chauhan has been objecting to his appointment. It remains to be seen how it all develops. However, Naresh Sharma ‘Tappu’ said that they have shortlisted 2-3 names for the post of coach.

Ashok Sharma, a DDCA director sent out his own list and he pushed the name of former India keeper Surender Khanna in the list. It will be interesting to see how all this folds out on Monday morning, the day of the camp.

We are publishing all the three lists, so that you get an idea as to what players are being pushed by whom.

The two judges, who have been appointed at 10 lakh rupees for the entire season, however, are still sitting on the results with no headway in sight. Which faction has won is still not clear and if there is still no decision on the five disputed clubs on whose votes the entire thing rests, these things will get worse.

As of now Tihara group leads 6-4. And if it stays like this, there are bound to be fireworks. 

No breakthrough as clubs sale issue crops up

Friday evening, former cricketers gathered at Ferozeshah Kotla’s non-smoking bar, lamenting what possibly is the slow death of cricket. With not even 10 days left for the domestic season to begin and less than 20 days left for the Ranji season to start, we are witnessing an unprecedented situation. The Ranji camp was hastily announced only on Saturday and it will begin on September 14, which is the coming Monday, not even three weeks before the first game. A look at the players' list shows the many compromises.

At the centre of all situation are the officials, the main culprits whose ego clashes and personal greed has left cricket on crutches. Who wouldn’t have wanted a mighty South African side to play at the Kotla in a T20 warm-up tie. Well, everyone would have wanted it except these DDCA officials, who presumably don’t have enough money to host the match where they know there wouldn’t be any returns.

Friday, incidentally, was the 75^th day when the two appointed judges, Babu Lal and GP Thareja sat at the DDCA overseeing the sports working committee elections. Yet, after all these days, they haven’t been able to complete the formalities. Yes, my friends, even the national elections last year took less time than the elections of the 111 clubs are taking. It is a tragedy of sorts and cricket is suffering.

It will be worthwhile to find out what sort of a discussion the vice-president CK Khanna had with sports secretary Sunil Dev and an official who has filed a case against him. Whether the meeting was meant to break the deadlock or not will be seen in a day or two.

The former cricketers like Bishan Bedi and Kirti Azad are sceptical. They believe that there will be some sort of a compromise that will again undermine cricket’s quality with seats being shared on the basis of some arrangement. “Some yours, some mine” could be the way forward.

The ex-cricketers met the judge and brought to light the illegal sale of 18 clubs over the last 13-14 years. Their contention is that overall 34 clubs have been sold illegally over this period, bringing a cloud over their ownership and whether they can vote. They will soon prepare the list and papers of the remaining 16 and send them to the judges. The judges will at the most put a note but probably nothing more as these clubs have been voting for quite a long time over the years.

The entire issue now comes to cricket and whether Delhi’s first-class cricket will get affected or not. As of now, it has been badly affected and skipper Gautam Gambhir has expressed his unhappiness over the issue.

As it is the judges can’t make up their mind over the election results and declare them. The issue of six disputed clubs is hampering it. While the votes of 105 were counted, the five disputed and one Mohan Meakins whose secretary is Madan Lal, the former cricketer, are the bone of contention.

Dev has said that the judges are not willing to look at papers from last year, or the court orders and following the lead.

One point is very much clear though. Dev’s aide Vinod Tihara is finding it tough to regain the authority he had especially with the current mandate. He has a marginal majority although the picture will become clear once the ballots of the remaining 5-6 clubs are opened. He can get more slots in the sports working committee or he can lose a couple. He is leading 6-4 at the moment.

The major issue and a fallout of this rivalry is that there is no cash with the DDCA. On Saturday, Hindustan Times reported that they are not holding the T20 warm-up match because of lack of money. Chetan Chauhan pointed out in the report that they have to pay 1.9 crore rupees as taxes to Municipal Corporation of Delhi and 25 lakh rupees to Land and Development Office. Including other expenses, the total cost comes to 3 crore rupees.  Since there are no returns the DDCA don’t want to bear unnecessary expenses. They have not been getting BCCI grants because they haven’t submitted the balance sheets and only a limited amount is being given to them to run cricket. Recently, they were given 4 crore rupees and they are left with just 2-2.5 crore rupees which they’ll need to pay salaries and run cricket.

Making fun of this irony former India captain Bishan Bedi tweeted, “Cash starved DDCA?Really?Then why R so many fat lumps o corruption w/in DDCA clinging on 2 office fr dear life?Crkt starved Del yes;Cash-No!.”

Cricket suffers as sports Committee elections' standoff continues

It has been over a week since the sports working committee elections took place at the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA). And still there has been no headway. Delhi cricket’s future remains at stake, with no one to take responsibility. On September 1, the date the delayed Sports Working Committee elections were held, Vinod Tihara’s faction, backed by Sunil Dev and Sneh Bansal, won six posts in the 10-member committee. The rival faction backed by CK Khanna, Chetan Chauhan and Ravindra Manchanda won 4 posts.

However, there are five clubs, whose ownership is still in a doubt and a lot depends on them as the judges were expected to open them and give verdict. The votes from those clubs can have a massive bearing, it can either bring Khanna-Chauhan-Manchanda’s faction to six posts or it can bring them to less than four and give others more posts. So it is very crucial. However the two judges, GP Thareja and Babu Lal, seems to be delaying matters and it is not helping anyone. If they accept status quo then obviously, there’ll be a massive issue. Over the last two years, either of the two factions won full majority. So decisions could be taken without delay. But with two factions now, there is bound to be massive debates and stand-offs in case the status quo remains.

That the judges are delaying isn’t helping. One wonders whether if they are scared.

Both factions of Roop Nagar, KN Colts to vote at DDCA SWC elections

It is a funny thing, the entire DDCA drama over the sports working committee elections. The other day someone rightly pointed out the fact that few local association elections take place like --- this with all the nautanki and with the rival parties fighting over every inch.

There are two judges sitting at the Ferozeshah Kotla, sorting out the voters’ list and it is being said that they’ve refused even a cup of tea. Well, they might be doing the right thing because with tea will accompany the pakoras and we have all heard what DDCA’s pakoras do to stomach.

In many cases, the two learned judges are not even sure who will vote for whom. There are a few disputes regarding the clubs and they have been hearing that.

The judges Babu Lal and GP Thareja have, however, decided on a few issues. One issue was of the four disputed clubs --- Rani Bagh, Roop Nagar, KN Colts and Young Association. The verdict on Roop Nagar and KN Colts has been giving, keeping both parties happy --- both the rival factions have been allowed to vote which means additional voting rights.

In the case of Young Association, the original owner has not been allowed to vote whereas the other, who and whose dad were the long-time secretary, has been given voting rights. It is yet unclear who they’ll vote for in the elections, the SP Bansal-backed faction or the CK Khanna-Sunil Dev backed faction.

Meanwhile the fight over Rani Bagh is out in the open and the judges will soon have to decide over it.

Interestingly, the case regarding the Youngster cricket club has been heard. The judges will give their judgement most probably on Monday. It has been learnt that there was huge drama and while the late Devendra Chaudhry’s family has all the papers with them, Mr Sunil Dev has stated that he was given charge of the club. It looks likely that Devendra Chaudhry’s family will most likely vote. More on that issue later when the verdict comes. That is it for now.