Members getting frustrated, write '420' under SP Bansal's nameplate

It seems the members are getting frustrated by the day with the DDCA failing to take concrete action against the officials implicated in corruption. After member and former international cricketer Kirti Azad wrote a mail to Chetan Chauhan asking him to take action, he went to meet the former India opener on Saturday. What happened in the meeting is not known except that Chauhan again assured that the association will take action. However, one of the members gave vent to his emotions after writing words “Chor 420” under the nameplates of president Sneh Bansal and general secretary Anil Khanna. The embarrassed DDCA staff immediately wiped off the words before anyone could click pictures. Ashok Katyal, a member of DDCA close to the current sports working committee and also a member of the GG Dutt tournament organising committee, sent out a message through whatsapp criticising the act. He called it ‘sharmnaak’ (a shame).

Case of 10 crore rupees, DDCA calls finance committee meeting

The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) has planned to hold its finance committee meeting on Tuesday, June 16. The meeting will decide on the course of action to be taken, particularly to hand over the balance sheet for 2013-14 to BCCI and get the outstanding funds released from it.  

The BCCI is withholding 10 crore rupees that are due to the DDCA because the Delhi officials have failed to provide the balance sheet, that show the financial position of a company, to the Indian board.

The DDCA has been facing cash crunch for quite a while and internal squabbles like the fight between Bansal-Tihara-Sunil Dev trio and others have already put them in a fix. A sum of 7 crore rupees is already lying with the Central Bank of India with the account frozen. The account was frozen a few months back after Chetan Chauhan had transferred the sum into the account and sports secretary Sunil Dev had termed the act illegal and lodged a complaint, leading to the freezing of the account.

A desperate DDCA had to approach the BCCI who released 3 crore rupees out of the outstanding 13 crore. The board released the money a couple of months back. However, DDCA’s dues on property tax, electricity bills, salaries and other expenses are expected to consume the three crore anytime soon. Hence the desperation to get the remaining 10 crore released from the Indian board.

“We have called the meeting on Tuesday. All the top office bearers will participate in it and decide the future course of action,” said treasurer Ravindra Manchanda.

Every association gets money from the board and a big association like Delhi gets a lot more than other smaller associations. It is strange that despite sitting on a pot of wealth, DDCA has been failing to get the paperwork done properly, resulting in non-payment of dues to officials, staff, players and ground-owners.

To defreeze account, DDCA passes resolution to remove Sunil Dev as signatory

The Delhi and District Association (DDCA)’s executive committee (EC) this week decided to go ahead with an important resolution in its bid to defreeze its account in Central Bank of India and free up the R7 crore that is lying in it. The Central Bank had frozen the account after it emerged that the Sports Secretary, Sunil Dev had objected to the transfer of DDCA money to that account. The freezing of the account had put DDCA in a quandary and left it with no funds at all to pay the umpires, clubs and even ground fees.

However, the executive committee met on Tuesday and 14 of the 20 members, including one government nominee, present decided to approach the bank to defreeze the account and importantly remove Sunil Dev from the list of four signatories whose signs are necessary to reopen the account. There are 27 members in the executive committee. The lack of Dev’s signature had created the trouble.  The Bank had told DDCA to either get Dev’s signature or remove him from the list of signatories, which the DDCA have now done. The DDCA have replaced him with Anil Khanna, the same person who was removed from the post of general secretary during the SP Bansal scandal last December where R1.55 crore of DDCA was allegedly siphoned off.  The other three signatories are treasurer Ravindra Manchanda, vice-president Chetan Chauhan and club secretary Sunil Jain.

Interestingly, Sunil Jain was not even present at the emergent executive committee meeting although officials say that his sign is already there on bank statement and he is supportive of the need to defreeze the account. Among the others absent from the meeting were Sunil Dev, who sent a letter to EC and the bank citing his unavailability, forcing EC to remove him from the list of signatories. Salil Seth was also absent. Out of 20, while 14 signed for the resolution, 5 voted against and one Anil Jain abstained from it.

The executive committee will now present the resolution, in written form, to the bank within a day or two. Whether the bank agrees to open the account is yet to be seen.

Meanwhile, former India cricketer and World Cup winner Kirti Azad has written to vice-president Chetan Chauhan apparently questioning DDCA’s will to sort the issue. He has provided a copy of another resolution taken on December 9 where 14 directors decided to remove president SP Bansal and general secretary Anil Khanna on charges of illegal transfer of R1.55 crore of DDCA’s money. Azad says in his letter that having Anil Khanna as one of the signatories has washed away all his past sins.

Interestingly, despite that December resolution, Bansal remains president of the DDCA.  Some insiders say that Bansal-Dev-Tihara group had got work done and people like Bansal, Ravi Jain reinstated in their old positions in return of helping defreeze the Central Bank account. It however didn’t happen and the EC had to resort to a resolution.

Fight on: Dharna cancelled after CK Khanna felicitation

Over the last one week, the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) saw posters of rivals being put up at the entrance gate. One attacked the Chetan Chauhan-CK Khanna duo while the other in retaliation hit out at SP Bansal-Sunil Dev-Vinod Tihara.

The DDCA politics has got worse after Chetan Chauhan transferred an amount close to R7 crore in the Central Bank of India. Mr Chauhan said that he had to transfer the DDCA money after SP Bansal was caught transferring R1.55 crore of DDCA money to the accounts of private company. However, Sunil Dev, the sports secretary, who is now with DDCA president Mr SP Bansal lodged a complaint saying that Chauhan’s act tantamounted to embezzlement as his signature was not taken for the resolution that allowed money to be deposited to Central Bank account.  

So as of now the amount of R6.7 crore is lying with the bank with the club subsidies, salaries and ground dues unable to be paid.

This week, a group of directors will approach the bank, hoping the amount will be released and the dues paid.

Things were expected to get worse as Vinod Tihara, the convenor of the sports working committee and his fellow officials were supposed to hold a dharna at the Jantar Mantra on Sunday along with club secretaries. Now, Mr Tihara is siding with Mr Dev. The account was reportedly frozen at the behest of this group and they know that the money can’t be withdrawn. 

However, the plan fell as a DDCA sports working committee member Mahesh Bhati organised a successful felicitation ceremony for Mr CK Khanna, upon his election as one of the five vice-presidents of the BCCI. Mr Khanna was also elected as the Chairman, Junior Selection Committee. The event saw 67 club secretaries attending the function and applauding Mr Khanna, forcing the dharna to be cancelled as its backers couldn't find support.  

 

CK Khanna (middle) with Mahesh Bhati

DDCA begins to lose the will to remove Bansal

The Delhi and District Cricket Association has been trapped in a strange tangle. After 17 of the 24-member executive committee had decided to take the powers away from president Sneh Bansal, the latter is trying desperately to stay afloat.

It is strange that none of the 17 members, who removed Bansal, have filed an FIR against him whereas former cricketers have already taken the initiative.

Surender Khanna says he is surprised that none of the officials have gone hammer and tongs against Bansal.

There were a series of four meetings held between 9^th December and 2^nd January where a lot of decisions have been taken. A Delhi court has said that in all general meetings and other meetings, the presence of president is necessary. He is supposed to act as the chairman. In the case of DDCA, this didn’t happen. The court has cancelled the meeting that EC was planning to hold on January 21, saying that no meeting will be held till the next date of hearing on January 27.

The court also says that in the absence of president, another executive committee member has to be appointed the chairman. However, the court feels that the executive committee could not elect any other person as the chairman. It probably means that the decisions in the meetings don’t hold good and the step taken to remove president Bansal should have been taken with Bansal there or someone else as the chairman.

Bansal has been complaining that he was not informed about the meetings which were sometimes held at Hotel Vikram. This is one mistake the executive committee made. Besides, they are also going easy against Anil Khanna, the general secretary, who signed the cheques that routed the DDCA money to a company owned by Bansal. Recently, while Delhi’s match against Odisha was on, the former cricketers met at the Ferozeshah Kotla. Both, vice-president Chetan Chauhan and treasurer Ravinder Manchanda, promised the ex-cricketers that they’d file an FIR against Bansal. But they have failed to do it.

However, the fact that Bansal has got a relief by using the court of law also proves one thing. The issue of corruption has been put in the background and almost forgotten. The fact that R1.55 crore was transferred from DDCA to a company is the core issue, which somehow is getting lost. Soon people will forget about everything and some sort of compromise will put Bansal the man in charge once again.

It shows the level that DDCA is falling to everyday.

Interestingly, the new dispensation had revamped the U-19 selection panel saying that there were irregularities. They had installed Virat Kohli’s coach Raj Kumar Sharma as the chief selector instead of Bantoo Singh. The court, however, said that the general meeting without the president or chairman took such decisions therefore it was wrong. It meant that the old committee under Bantoo Singh had the last laugh and their team was sent for the next round match. Vinod Tihara, the sports committee convenor had been fighting Bantoo’s favour and had disapproved of Chetan Chauhan’s move to replace Bantoo with Raj Kumar Sharma.

Bansal removed, Chauhan named interim president, CK Khanna to represent DDCA at BCCI

On Tuesday night, the executive committee of the Delhi and District Cricket Association had gathered at the Ferozeshah Kotla to remove SP Bansal, the president of the DDCA. The meeting was to start at 6 pm. What followed was complete chaos where the umpires, the sports committee members as well as the scorers gathered and created ruckus over non-payment of their dues. They have not got their dues for quite a few months and the DDCA league also has been stalled this fortnight.

The executive members then met with Bansal and the meeting was adjourned. The meeting was then taken to Vikram Hotel near Moolchand. Bansal says that when he reached there, no one was there and it was learnt that the meeting took place at the Kotla only. Fourteen out of 24 members decided to vote against Bansal, allegedly for corruption issues.  “Bansal had asked general secretary Anil Khanna to transfer a sum of rupees 1.55 crore to three different companies. Then when the matter was brought to light, he transferred it back to the DDCA,” DDCA treasurer Ravinder Manchanda told reporters.

“I was kept in the dark. I didn’t know anything. I was elected as treasurer on December 31, 2013. I realised that the president had the authority to sign amounts without even asking the treasurer for it. Three different sums totalling 1.55 crore of rupees were transferred to different companies through RTGS in January,” said Manchanda.

However, once the issue was raised by Kirti Azad and he sent out mails regarding this, the money was returned to the DDCA by March-end.

“We think the money would not have been returned had this not come to light and the movement of money without the permission is illegal,” said Manchanda. “Incidentally, the minutes of the meeting where the statement of general secretary, Anil Khanna, who said he transferred the money at the behest of Bansal, disappeared from the accounts office,” Manchanda added at a press conference at the Kotla on Wednesday.

Chetan Chauhan, the vice-president, who has been elected as the interim president by the executive committee, said that there have been discrepancies in other things like officials going out of station in first class which will be looked into. Manchanda says he is studying papers and will look into the matter.

Manchanda also pointed out that Bansal had given three different statements. “Firstly, he said that the money was sent to the BCCI. When BCCI said they have not got any money from DDCA, we asked him again in the next meeting. But he said that the DDCA money was being invested. If that was so, where were the returns. Then, he pointed out that it was given to three companies and then it was returned,” said Manchanda.

A letter by the treasurer and signed by other members has been sent to the BCCI where it puts the blame on Bansal. The letter reads, “However, the second signatory, Sh Anil Khanna, Hony Gen. Secretary, Sh Anil Khanna, informed the House that he was made to sign the necessary instructions for disbursement of that amount through RTGS by Sh. SP Bansal, President of DDCA on the pretext that this amount was to be paid in furtherance to the directions issued by BCCI. Mr Anil Khanna also claimed his innocence in the matter.” It then says that the decision to remove the President was taken after Anil Khanna’s confession.

While Bansal will remain the vice-president of the BCCI and will attend the board meetings in that capacity, vice-president CK Khanna appears to have gained something. He will represent DDCA in the BCCI meetings instead of others sent by Bansal. The annual general meeting of the BCCI is on January 31.

There has been a lot of issues with the Delhi team and its selection panels too. “Proper procedure was not followed while putting up selection panels,” said interim president Chetan Chauhan. Yahspal Sharma was appointed amidst lots of controversy and there have been pressures from different quarters. “All that will be put to good purpose.”

However, SP Bansal said that the charges are false and he will prove it. “I will read the papers and allegations and then talk with the other officials. They held the meeting illegally. They told me that they will hold it in Vikram Hotel and when I reached, I didn’t find anyone there and I learnt later that they were holding a meeting at the Kotla even though the meeting had been adjourned earlier,” he said. “All these charges are false and I continue to be the president.”

Following the ruckus on Tuesday, the DDCA has banned members Naresh Sharma, Anil Mishra, Tirkha, Maqsood Kareem and Haider for misbehaving and creating a scene.

Analysing Delhi Ranji team

The Delhi team that has been selected for the first Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra contains no surprises. Ashish Nehra has gone a step further and rested himself even at the start of the season. Nehra played in the Vijay Hazare one-dayers in Himachal Pradesh and was below par in helpful conditions. In previous seasons he has refrained from playing two back-to-back Ranji matches as his body doesn’t allow it. But this resting at the start of the season without even getting your body taxed is a new thing. Any updates on his fitness. We know that he is harbouring World Cup hopes and it is strange that he feels he can last the entire high pressure world cup despite his fragile body.
The other major inclusion is of Pradeep Sangwan. Sangi, the left-arm seamer, is coming off a doping ban. He is a handy seamer but only handy. He can’t go all the way and deliver really quick stuff and if the wicket is less supportive, he can be no good. But he is still included thanks to his experience and also some backing from Virender Sehwag, who rates him high. Sangi said that he has worked a lot hard on his fitness. How much, only time and his performance will tell. To start with, he has a good place to start with --- the Roshanara Club grounds, which are very supportive for seamers.
The news also is that Mithun Manhas is injured. And he has been replaced by Himmat Singh, the U-19 Delhi skipper who is apparently rated highly by everyone, including chief selector Yashpal Singh. Himmat has two fifties and one big century against Tripura in the Cooch Behar Trophy. He is one for the future but will he get to play in a star-studded line-up and will he perform on a testing Roshanara wicket remains to be seen.
Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Unmukt Chand will be the cynosure of all eyes despite their failure in the Vijay Hazare one-dayers. Sehwag says he still harbours world cup hopes. Well, he better prove to really catch a flight down to Australia. There is a feeling that he doesn’t stand a chance as he squandered the last remaining opportunity in the domestic one-dayers and he opted out of the zonal one-dayers, the Deodhar Trophy. But a couple blistering, big knocks in Ranji may help him as he is a big name. Gambhir too has been struggling. He is getting a bit more runs that Viru paaji but Gauti looks ungainly and is not inspiring confidence these days. He too may have to really dig deep. He wants a result, has taken a risk by opting for the tough Roshanara Club grounds for a result, but it’ll be tough work for him as a batsman. Unmukt comes up with gems but not when he is playing for Delhi. This has irked the selection panel, which even asked coach Vijay Dahiya if there is a need to replace him. But Unmukt, it seems has become a brand, big and promising enough for Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir to let him go for Deodhar instead of them and for national selector Vikram Rathour to back him.
Puneet Bisht, despite some below average showings, retains his spot while Rajat Bhatia, the only player who has consistently produced performances will again hold the key.
Navdeep Saini, Gambhir-backed lad, will again be part of the pace attack, along with his close friend Sumit Narwal, Pradeep Sangwan and hard-working Parvinder Awana.