Enter Pataudi charisma: DDCA agrees to Sehwag's demands, issue resolved
By Qaiser Mohammd Ali
New Delhi, August 25, 2009: Virender Sehwag has decided to stay back in Delhi. The India opener took this decision following a meeting with top officials of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), in the presence of former India captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, here on Monday night.
Sehwag had threatened to quit Delhi for Haryana after alleging rampant manipulation in selection of teams and the rapidly growing powers of the sports working committee. But the dashing batsman had a change of heart after the DDCA president Arun Jaitley and other top officials assured him that the reforms suggested by him would be “accommodated”.
“Sehwag is not going anywhere. He suggested some changes and we will accommodate them. Earlier, we were a little bit lenient in the matter of selection of teams, but now we will be strict. With this, the issues that Sehwag had raised have been resolved; he was never adamant on leaving during the meeting,” a source told Mail Today. The meeting was held Jaitley’s south Delhi residence.
Gautam Gambhir also accompanied Sehwag, besides Pataudi. There were, in fact, two meetings. Sehwag, Jaitley and DDCA secretary general SP Bansal met first and then they were joined by Pataudi, Gambhir, DDCA sports secretary Sunil Dev and the three two vice-presidents — Chetan Chauhan, Suresh Chopra and CK Khanna. Each meeting lasted over one-and-a-half hours.
Sehwag had dropped the bombshell by alleging that there was rampant manipulation in the selection of various Delhi teams, more so at the junior level, in an interview with Mail Today published on August 17. He had also alleged that the sports working committee had overgrown its brief and was interfering in the teams’ selection through the selectors virtually appointed by it.
DDCA officials are also believed to have assured that the powers of the sports working committee would be curbed. “Payment to players was never an issue. But we will check interference of the sports working committee, respecting Sehwag’s suggestions,” said the source.
Sehwag had received tremendous support, not just from his Delhi and India teammates, but also from former players and coaches.
The source said that one of Sehwag’s suggestions was to have more tournaments to spot the talent. “He said that tournaments should be organised before big tournaments like the Ranji Trophy. We would definitely work on this suggestion. After all, we all want to improve the standard of the game in the Capital,” he said.
On the role played by Pataudi, also a former Delhi player, the source said that he came with Sehwag in his capacity as one of the most respected players living in the city. “By bringing Pataudi along with him, Sehwag perhaps wanted to show that former players of his stature were with him on the issues he had raised,” he said. “It was also decided that Pataudi would visit Feroze Shah Kotla, maybe, twice or thrice a month to oversee the reforms being implemented.”
Sehwag, who landed in Delhi on Sunday night, ahead of the original plan, was supposed to meet Jaitley and Bansal on Tuesday. But he sought an early meeting so that he could apply for a No Objection Certificate before the August 31 deadline, in case the issues were not resolved.
The day began with Jaitley speaking with Bansal on phone, apparently, to decide the line to take when Sehwag would join them. The two officials also finalised the venue of the meeting – Jaitley’s south Delhi residence.
Meanwhile, Gambhir, who had been down with fever, finally turned up at the Feroze Shah Kotla where a three-week conditioning camp for 23 Ranji Trophy probables is going on. His visit coincided with him regaining the No. 1 spot on the Test rankings of the International Cricket Council, having climbed two places to the top of the heap.
(This story first appeared in Mail Today newspaper on August 25, 2009)
By Qaiser Mohammd Ali
New Delhi, August 25, 2009: Virender Sehwag has decided to stay back in Delhi. The India opener took this decision following a meeting with top officials of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), in the presence of former India captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, here on Monday night.
Sehwag had threatened to quit Delhi for Haryana after alleging rampant manipulation in selection of teams and the rapidly growing powers of the sports working committee. But the dashing batsman had a change of heart after the DDCA president Arun Jaitley and other top officials assured him that the reforms suggested by him would be “accommodated”.
“Sehwag is not going anywhere. He suggested some changes and we will accommodate them. Earlier, we were a little bit lenient in the matter of selection of teams, but now we will be strict. With this, the issues that Sehwag had raised have been resolved; he was never adamant on leaving during the meeting,” a source told Mail Today. The meeting was held Jaitley’s south Delhi residence.
Gautam Gambhir also accompanied Sehwag, besides Pataudi. There were, in fact, two meetings. Sehwag, Jaitley and DDCA secretary general SP Bansal met first and then they were joined by Pataudi, Gambhir, DDCA sports secretary Sunil Dev and the three two vice-presidents — Chetan Chauhan, Suresh Chopra and CK Khanna. Each meeting lasted over one-and-a-half hours.
Sehwag had dropped the bombshell by alleging that there was rampant manipulation in the selection of various Delhi teams, more so at the junior level, in an interview with Mail Today published on August 17. He had also alleged that the sports working committee had overgrown its brief and was interfering in the teams’ selection through the selectors virtually appointed by it.
DDCA officials are also believed to have assured that the powers of the sports working committee would be curbed. “Payment to players was never an issue. But we will check interference of the sports working committee, respecting Sehwag’s suggestions,” said the source.
Sehwag had received tremendous support, not just from his Delhi and India teammates, but also from former players and coaches.
The source said that one of Sehwag’s suggestions was to have more tournaments to spot the talent. “He said that tournaments should be organised before big tournaments like the Ranji Trophy. We would definitely work on this suggestion. After all, we all want to improve the standard of the game in the Capital,” he said.
On the role played by Pataudi, also a former Delhi player, the source said that he came with Sehwag in his capacity as one of the most respected players living in the city. “By bringing Pataudi along with him, Sehwag perhaps wanted to show that former players of his stature were with him on the issues he had raised,” he said. “It was also decided that Pataudi would visit Feroze Shah Kotla, maybe, twice or thrice a month to oversee the reforms being implemented.”
Sehwag, who landed in Delhi on Sunday night, ahead of the original plan, was supposed to meet Jaitley and Bansal on Tuesday. But he sought an early meeting so that he could apply for a No Objection Certificate before the August 31 deadline, in case the issues were not resolved.
The day began with Jaitley speaking with Bansal on phone, apparently, to decide the line to take when Sehwag would join them. The two officials also finalised the venue of the meeting – Jaitley’s south Delhi residence.
Meanwhile, Gambhir, who had been down with fever, finally turned up at the Feroze Shah Kotla where a three-week conditioning camp for 23 Ranji Trophy probables is going on. His visit coincided with him regaining the No. 1 spot on the Test rankings of the International Cricket Council, having climbed two places to the top of the heap.
(This story first appeared in Mail Today newspaper on August 25, 2009)
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