Government nominees intervene in Delhi controversy

The three nominees appointed by the government of Delhi last year to look into Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) matters have proposed a selection committee to end the controversy around three different squads named by Delhi officials, and have also proposed and approved Ajay Jadeja's name as the coach of the Ranji Trophy team for 2015-16.

In the last week Delhi cricket has been mired in controversy, with nobody to oversee the preliminary nets at Feroz Shah Kotla and nobody sure of who is to run the team. Virender Sehwag has already left Delhi for Haryana. Kotla has already given up South Africa's practice Twenty20 match it was scheduled to host because it won't be ready in time.

In a letter sent to the DDCA executive board, the government nominees have asked all parties concerned to get around their problems and approve the selection committee named by them, which includes former India cricketer Rahul Sanghvi. If the committee is approved by the board, Vinay Lamba and Hari Gidwani will join Sanghvi on the committee. Sunil Dev will be the convenor with no voting powers, and the captain and the coach will be invitees to selection meetings.

Captaincy has been a thorny issue with different factions in the DDCA preferring Unmukt Chand and Gautam Gambhir. While Chand is away playing for India A against Bangladesh A in Bangalore, Gambhir has attended only one of the first three days of preliminary nets.

The first list, issued by DDCA vice-president Chetan Chauhan, included 45 players. The next list, released by Anil Jain, joint secretary (sports), named 53 players, included the 45 originally named. A third list, this one named by Ashok Sharma, a DDCA director, added three more names. One of the lists named Chand as captain, the other two didn't have a captain. Two lists nominated Madan Lal as chief mentor, the third had Surinder Khanna.

The first three days of the nets have been a shambles according to reports, with no one to co-ordinate what goes on. The pitches were wet, and it was said even basic facilities were missing. There weren't enough cricket balls, the Indian Express reported. Former Delhi medium-pacer Amit Bhandari, assistant coach last year, attended the camp on day two on DDCA's request, but he too stayed away on the third day. Gambhir, being the senior-most member in the squad, and almost forced to supervise the nets on day one, has stayed away since.

Chauhan has said Jadeja's appointment is more or less final, but there is resistance to his nomination in certain quarters.