The recently-appointed Cricket Committee's association with the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) came to an abrupt, if not pleasant, end here on Sunday.
Sportstar has learnt that the Cricket Committee, comprising Virender Sehwag, Aakash Chopra and Rahul Sanghvi, has submitted its resignation even before Delhi could play its first match of the season.
The first task for the Cricket Committee, appointed by DDCA president Rajat Sharma, was to pick the various selection committees and coaches.
Having made the recommendations, which were accepted in toto by the DDCA Executive Committee, the Cricket Committee was in constant communication with the association to confirm the appointment of Manoj Prabhakar as the bowling coach of the Ranji Trophy team.
Prabhakar was the bowling coach of the team which finished runner-up in Ranji Trophy and won the Mushtaq Ali tournament.
Prabhakar's appointment, however, became the bone of contention between DDCA and the Cricket Committee since the former held back the all-rounder's name even as it approved all other recommendations.
The Cricket Committee stuck to its decision since the choice of Prabhakar was based on inputs from the Delhi team's bowling unit of the past season.
The bowlers, including Ishant Sharma, praised Prabhakar's efforts to help them improve their performances.
With each passing day, the Cricket Committee was left wondering at the delay in roping in Prabhakar since coach Mithun Manhas was keen to avail the service of the bowling coach.
Delhi is scheduled to play its first match of the Vijay Hazare tournament, against Saurashtra, on September 20.
Convinced that the DDCA was not going to give the green light to Prabhakar's appointment, the Cricket Committee took the decision of putting in its papers.
The Committee, on its own, preferred to part citing personal reasons and a paucity of time. The message, however, was not lost on the DDCA.
The Cricket Committee had also protested the presence of a fourth member in the selection process and brought it to the notice of the Executive Committee at various stages. The DDCA, however, chose to ignore its suggestions in the case of Prabhakar.
The DDCA president, while accepting their resignations, put on record his appreciation for their work and pointed out the impending adoption of the new Constitution which would have impacted the Cricket Committee's continuance on account of Conflict of Interest.
It is interesting though that the fourth member in the selection process objected to by the Cricket Committee, is facing a series of complaints on Conflict of Interest – part of the process to pick the selectors, who, in turn, have appointed him as captain of the Ranji Trophy team.
The DDCA Ombudsman, Justice (Retd) Badar Durrez Ahmed, is in the process of addressing complaints against the captain of the Ranji team.
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