Rajasthan captain Deepak Hooda, unhappy with certain calls over player selection, decided to sit out of the team practice session on the eve of their Ranji Trophy ‘Elite Group B’ match against Hyderabad at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here.
A source in the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA), on conditions of anonymity, revealed, “This has been an issue since the start of the season. There have been multiple disagreements over player selection between the ad hoc panel and the captain and coach. However, yesterday, things got a bit out of control as the captain, although he came for the practice session, continued to sit out. He was constantly on his phone, busy on calls with the ad hoc committee members and the Sports Minister (Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore),”
Sportstar learnt that a certain ad hoc committee member had even threatened to quit if his suggestions were not heeded.
The ad hoc panel, led by Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Jaideep Bihani, was formed in March this year to oversee cricket activities and help hold elections of the state body. While Ratan Singh is the convener, he is also assisted by Pawan Goyal, Dharmveer Singh Shekhawat and Harish Singh.
Dharmveer agreed that Hooda had indeed expressed his displeasure over certain decisions. He said, “These things happen when there are a number of people trying to make a decision. The more the heads, more the opinions. It isn’t wrong and it is not a controversy. The captain wanted wicketkeeper-batter Kunal Singh Rathore to continue despite the fact that he hasn’t performed for a while now. He has hit only one fifty in his last three games.” Kunal had scored 59 in the second innings against Puducherry.
It can be confirmed that Hooda, despite the disaccord, attended Tuesday’s team meeting in the evening. The coach and a core group of four players, including vice-captain Deepak Chahar, supported their captain.
Dharmveer said, “We have been accommodating enough to include the captain and coach in all our team selection meetings. Kunal didn’t make the initial 15 but the captain was not willing to take the field without him. We decided to listen to him because he felt his addition would be good for the team. I had a chat with the convenor and captain. I just wished (Kunal) Rathore well. We all want him to perform. It is just that we felt Rajkumar Saini would have been a good choice. He has done well in the domestic circuit.”
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Dharmveer said the Sports Minister has always batted for fair inclusion into the side based on merit.
Although there are reports circulating that Hooda and Chahar had said they would let go of their leadership roles if not given a free hand, both Dharmveer and the association source responded in the negative.
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