Hitting out at Justice Sen, Bedi writes: Managing DDCA is not 'one' of my jobs

Bedi, in a hard-hitting response, has not only listed pending matters but also pointed out the administrator's failings and lack of clarity.

Bedi: 'You may choose to use our services or just ignore us. And, if you wish to use our services, please treat us with respect'.

Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi on Sunday stuck to his stand of Delhi High Court-appointed administrator Justice Vikramjit Sen being hardly involved in putting the DDCA in order or its administration.

Justice Sen had refuted allegations that he was unavailable for interactions with cricketers and sought volunteers to help run the DDCA league and the association. But Bedi, in a hard-hitting response, not only listed pending matters but also pointed out the administrator's failings and lack of clarity.

“Akash Lal and Sameer Bahadur had attended the meeting (with Sen) and given proposals in line with Hon. Supreme Court and Delhi High Court verdicts. They had also attended the first of the two EGMs (that) turned out to be damp squib...This is surprising since you have real powers, something that Justice Mudgal, your predecessor never had,” Bedi wrote.

He also questioned several decisions by Justice Sen. “Why should Madan Lal Committee report not be made public and why should action as recommended be not taken? By over-riding the Committee's recommendations, you have caused immense embarrassment to the Committee and, more importantly, let down the coach. I am sure that this is not the way the higher judiciary functions. In sports, there is no system of giving suspended sentences when it is a proven case of indiscipline,” he wrote, referring to the ban on Gautam Gambhir for indiscipline.

“Why should a camp be organized without identifying genuine boys. Then, to publicise that five members would be required to run the league gratis, is inviting sure-shot failure...Starting a league is a good step, but have you thought about the logical arrangements that have to be made? Anybody who has to run the league will have to run around, see that the ground and pitch is playable, toilets are functional and bare necessities like water are available. In such a scenario, where will we get people for 'gratis', who will spend money from their pockets to run the league?” he questioned.

Bedi, in fact, not just slammed Justice Sen for treating the entire issue as 'just another job' but also for humiliating the players. “Many of the steps you have been taking are clearly borne out of your insufficient understanding of sports, more particularly, cricket. We gather that you have several other engagements which do not allow you much time for DDCA...you need to make a conscious choice. Sadly, your approach to treat this as 'one' of the several other jobs is inappropriate and misplaced...We have a lot of expectations from you but honestly speaking, your over-officious approach and lack of counsel from people in the know is putting paid to any meaningful change,” Bedi wrote.

“To make matters worse, you do not even have a team which has professional and timely inputs. The way a small issue such as appointment has been handled does not give a very professional picture. If I have to seek an appointment with some secretary in your office, as has been advised, I would much rather not like to meet you...to be treated as mere riff-raff is galling and humiliating, to say the least. You may choose to use our services or just ignore us. And, if you wish to use our services, please treat us with respect,” he added.