Bishan Singh Bedi takes up Kirti Azad's cause

Bedi has taken up the issue of former national selector Kirti Azad not being called for the interview to choose the Delhi selectors ahead of the domestic season starting from January.

Former Indian captain Bishan Singh Bedi has taken up the issue of former national selector Kirti Azad not being called for the interview to choose the Delhi selectors.

Former Indian captain Bishan Singh Bedi has taken up the issue of former national selector Kirti Azad not being called for the interview to choose the Delhi selectors.

In a letter to the Delhi and District Cricket Association Ombudsman Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed, Bedi called this move of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) as a violation of the Supreme Court judgement.The interviews, scheduled on Thursday and Friday, began without Azad being invited on the grounds that he was 60 years old and carried a higher risk of being a Covid victim.

READ|

In his letter, Bedi pointed out, “Despite being eligible in every respect, DDCA has chosen not to even invite Kirti Azad for an interview. In fact, DDCA’s CAC has invited five cricketers to appear for interviews today. From available indications, the reasons they tout are that Kirti Azad is more than 60 years old and second, that Kirti Azad has been a selector in DDCA for 6 years. Both these statements are blatantly false.

READ|

“First, Kirti Azad was a national selector for only two years from September 2002 to September 2004 in BCCI whilst simultaneously being a Delhi selector in the same period. Effectively, Kirti Azad has been a selector in DDCA and BCCI simultaneously between 2002 and 2004 only, i.e. for two years. The Hon Supreme Court’s judgement, as well as Justice Lodha Committee guidelines, has put the age bar on all administrators and selectors at age 70 years - and not 60 years.

READ|

“We will not be surprised if the DDCA announces the selectors' panel tomorrow itself, to pre-empt any action by the Ombudsman.

“The senior team for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is to be selected in the next few days, and any delay caused by going to courts will enable DDCA to do what they want. Recourse to legal options is time consuming and expensive.”

Further, Bedi urged, “DDCA should not be allowed to be whimsical in denying Kirti Azad the opportunity to even appear for an interview.The law as expounded in BCCI's case vs Aditya Verma in July 2016 must be followed in letter and spirit.”