DDCA president sacks state’s senior selection committee amid selection turmoil

The Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) president Rohan Jaitley has sacked the state's senior selection committee a day after the emergence of reports on ‘dubious selections’ in Delhi’s ongoing Ranji Trophy matches. 

As per ESPNcricinfo, the chief of the selection committee, Gagan Khoda had a massive public fallout with fellow selection panel member Mayank Sidana. The incident saw Sidana walking out of a meeting that was organised to pick Delhi's Under-25 squad for their upcoming CK Nayudu Trophy fixture.

The pair reportedly disagreed on multiple selection calls that were made for Delhi for their away fixture against Saurashtra in Rajkot recently. Delhi lost the game inside three days by a huge margin of an innings and 214 runs.

After the recent controversy, it is expected that DDCA's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Nikhil Chopra, Gursharan Singh and Reema Malhotra will select the team for the remaining Ranji Trophy matches this season. Notably, Delhi are yet to register a win in the ongoing Ranji Trophy and are currently occupying the second-last spot in group B. They have already played four games.

“The issue of manner in which players are being selected and replaced at the drop of a hat has become talk of the town. Recently in a meeting, it was informed that a replacement was sent for a senior player who was stated to be injured, the replacement while reaching there was also declared to be injured and another replacement was sent,” Jaitley wrote in an e-mail to DDCA's apex council and CAC members as reported by ESPNcricinfo.

“Despite clearly informing the committee that the number of players shall be restricted to 15-16 players, the committee has time and again recommended 20-22 member squad for each team," Jaitley wrote. "Therefore, these committees are not only doing disservice to the DDCA but also to the game of cricket,” the e-mail further read.

We cannot name even a single player as a potential candidate for India: Jaitley

DDCA chief is reportedly unhappy and mentioned that there’s no single cricketer from Delhi who they can perceive as a potential candidate for the national team. He also pointed out that there’s a lack of planning in Delhi cricket at the moment and held the selection committee responsible for the same.

“There was a time when Indian team would have at least four to five Delhi players. The situation today is such that we cannot name even a single player whom we perceive as a potential candidate for the national team.

The absolute lack of planning for Delhi Cricket is apparent on the face of it more so with regard to the vision and future course as discussed and planned...It is unfortunate that the Selection committee has shown scant commitment to the same.”

For Better Experience: Download CricTracker Mobile App