Ranji Trophy 2019-20: Anarchy surfaces in DDCA with selection of State team
According to veteran cricket official Parmod Jain, “all sanity in selection process has been thrown to the winds.”
Published : Dec 04, 2019 20:05 IST
The ‘anarchy’ that Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) Ombudsman Justice (Retd) Badar Durrez Ahmed had feared came true on Wednesday with the announcement of the State team for the Ranji Trophy.
The team was picked by a panel which included the three selectors, captain Dhruv Shorey and former first-class cricketer Sumit Narwal, in a newly-created post — Observer, Cricket Operations. “He (Narwal) has no business to be there. There is no such post and all this amounts to interference with the cricket matters,” DDCA Government nominee Rajan Tewari told Sportstar .
Tewari was shocked to learn that a “disqualified” vice-president, Rakesh Bansal, had called for a meeting of the apex council. “He stands disqualified on account of a case being registered with the Delhi Police. Who has given Narwal the authority to act as observer in the selection committee? The meeting is conducted by the convenor (Sanjay Bhardwaj, Director Cricket) and there is no such position called Observer, Cricket Operations,” Tewari added.
‘Lawlessness’
Veteran cricket official Parmod Jain called it “lawlessness” at DDCA.
“The selection mess in DDCA is getting compounded by the indiscriminate interference by its executive committee. In a latest move, all sanity in selection process has been thrown to the winds, which should shock all cricketers and cricket lovers. A special position of Observer has been created, where an ex-cricketer, Sumit Narwal is overseeing the meeting. There are two selectors who played most cricket for other States and now, with an observer from Haryana, sitting and overseeing the team selection, the final rites of the selection process will be conducted,” said Jain.
Usual allegations of flawed selections have brought the focus back on the selectors, who, according to some former veterans, are being “directed” to pick some favoured candidates. “Players are finding [their] way into the team without any performances or proper trials. Today, anyone can just walk into the Delhi team,” charged Jain.
- Dhruv Shorey (c), Nitish Rana, Kunal Chandela, Anuj Rawat, Jonty Sidhu, Lalit Yarav, Shivam Sharma, Vikas Mishra, Tejas Baroka, Pradeep Sangwan, Navdeep Saini, Pawan Suyal, Kunwar Bhiduri, Hiten Dalal and Shivank Vashisth.