Poor performance in Ranji: DDCA sacks selection panel after letter from president Jaitley
The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) on Thursday sacked the senior selection committee comprising former national selectors Gagan Khoda, Mayank Sidhana and Anil Bhardwaj. Delhi suffered a crushing defeat by an innings and 214 runs against Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy on Thursday. Delhi’s senior team has just two points from four matches after two defeats. Delhi had lost seven wickets for 10 runs in the first hour on a damp wicket on the first day in Rajkot and the situation could have been worse.
A day after PTI reported Sidhana walking out of the meeting following a rift with Khoda over the selection of the U-25 team, a clearly miffed chairman Rohan Jaitley sent a scathing email to all members of the apex council, including the DDCA. registered its ‘disapproval’ at the manner in which the men’s selection committees were discharging their duties. “Yes, the Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Nikhil Chopra, Gursharan Singh and Reema Malhotra will pick the team for the next three matches as Delhi are already out,” a senior DDCA director told PTI on condition of anonymity. . After the differences between Sidhana and Khoda became public, the office-bearers have approved the dismissal of the committee.
“I am compelled to write this mail to register my disapproval of the way the men’s selection committees of DDCA are discharging their duties,” Jaitley’s email, accessed by PTI, read. It seems that such committees are working without any vision and mission.” In fact, the DDCA president has openly questioned President Khoda’s habit of selecting 22 players for every match. Jaitley questioned how an injured player was sent in place of another injured player.
He said, “The way players are being selected and changed is the center of discussion. In a recent meeting, it was informed that a substitute for an injured senior player was sent and on reaching there, the substitute was also declared injured and another substitute was sent. Despite explicitly informing the Committee that the strength of players would be restricted to 15 to 16 players, the committee has repeatedly recommended 20 to 22 players for each team. So these committees are not only harming DDCA but also the game of cricket.
It must be mentioned that young captain Yash Dhull’s arbitrary decision to bat lower down the order has raised many questions on his temperament. It is understood that Dhul does not want to face seam and swing bowlers even on flat pitches. Jaitley was taken aback by the fact that Delhi currently did not have a single player who could be considered a contender for a place in the Indian team. He said, “There was a time when there were at least four to five Delhi players in the Indian team. The situation today is such that we cannot name a single player whom we (management and selectors) see as a possible candidate for the national team.
What angers Jaitley the most is that the selectors have not done their job despite having ‘complete independence and support’. In Jaitley’s email, the January 4 news of PTI was also sent to the members of the apex council. “Having disagreements and discussions is one part, however having fights and coming out publicly with those issues is another. Copies of media reports, articles in print and electronic media are being attached to this mail for ready reference to all.
Jaitley was also annoyed with Khoda not turning up for the trial matches. “If the selectors are busy with their personal work and are unable to participate in the selection process, it would have been prudent for such selectors to inform the DDCA about their busyness and inability to continue,” he said. Also questioned was the former India fast bowler Pankaj Singh not being allowed to attend the Under-25 selection meeting in his capacity as head coach. “In my view, it is of paramount importance that not only does the head coach attend each and every selection committee meeting, but his views should also be taken into account before any final decision on selection is taken.
