Questions galore on DDCA's decision to sack selectors

Old habits die hard. And, the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) is at it again. The DDCA has often drawn the flak for its 'corrupt' and 'awful' ways of functioning.

It was this reason that prompted the Delhi High Court to hand over the charge to Justice (retd) Mukul Mudgal to look into the matters of the DDCA and the organisation of matches since November last year. (DDCA sacks Atul Wassan, Nikhil Chopra, Maninder Singh from selection panel)

A recent communication from Vinod Tihara, convenor, Sports Working Committee, DDCA, claims to have removed former India cricketers Nikhil Chopra, Atul Wassan and Maninder Singh as selectors of the DDCA.

The release said that Board of Directors of the DDCA were "compelled to take the steps in view of the said appointment being in violation of the Lodha Committee recommendations on Conflict of Interest norms and also the guidelines framed by the BCCI".

It further stated that there were "persistent complaints regarding the alleged commercial engagements of the three selectors with media houses as commentators".

The senior selection panel was set up by Justice Mudgal who is not too amused with the recent development and will, in all likelihood, bring it to the notice of the Delhi High Court.

"If they had any issues with the appointment of these three selectors, they could have conveyed their concerns to the Delhi High Court. Let the court take a call on whether the decision has any authenticity or not," Justice Mudgal told India Today.

During the emergency meeting, the sports committee replaced the three selectors with Sarandeep Singh, Robin Singh and Rakesh Shukla. The committee claims that the appointment of Chopra, Wassan and Singh is in violation of the Lodha Committee recommendations as all three are also serving as commentators and experts with media houses.

For the record, the DDCA has so far not submitted any affidavit, as mandated by the Supreme Court, that it will implement the Lodha committee recommendations in total. Interestingly, the BCCI has set an age cap of 60 for national selectors but the DDCA sports committee chose to appoint Rakesh Shukla who is over 68.

The DDCA, over the years, has been divided in factions and soon after the decision was taken, some of the members of the association sought a clarification from the BCCI.

"The BCCI has clarified that the restrictions that are applicable on national selectors do not necessarily apply on selectors for states," said a source.

Secondly, there is also question on the jurisdiction of the committee that has issued the orders as the tenure of its members expired at the end of September this year.

Sarandeep, the former India off-spinner, was recently appointed as the national selector. The question is will he be able to devote time to the Delhi cricket, considering there is already so much on his platter.

Also, he is the same Sarandeep, whose candidature as a selector was rejected by the DDCA not too long ago.

Delhi cricket, despite producing some of the most talented players who have gone on to represent the country at various levels, has often suffered because of the administrators who have always put themselves ahead of the game.