India's hockey legend KD Singh ‘Babu’: Forgotten in his own city and state

Qaiser Mohammad Ali, www.JantaKaReporter.com

Managing Editor

@AlwaysCricket

The name KD Singh ‘Babu’ might not ring a bell with many people of today’s cricket-crazy generation. He was one of the best-known hockey legends; people who had seen his magical stick work rate him either at par with hockey wizard Dhyan Chand, some a notch higher.

That Kunwar Digvijay Singh ‘Babu’, who excelled while playing at the inside-right position, won two Olympic gold medals as captain (1952) and vice-captain (1948) of the Indian teams is a historic fact. But not many people would probably know is that he was also pretty good at several other sports. He was a more-than-competent cricketer – he hammered three centuries, including a double hundred, in the Sheesh Mahal Tournament in Lucknow — a master shooter/hunter, and a competent golfer and tennis player.

The ancestral home of hockey legend KD Singh ‘Babu’ as it looks today in Barabanki city, 27 kms from Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh state. Photo: Qaiser Mohammad Ali

For his priceless contribution to hockey, ‘Babu’ was awarded the Helms Trophy in 1952 by the American Helms Foundation – the first Asian to receive the honour — while the Indian government conferred Padma Shri on him in 1958.

Despite his great achievements, KD Singh ‘Babu’ today is virtually completely forgotten in the city he was born in 1923, Barabanki, and in Lucknow, just 27 kilometres away, where he studied and played most of his hockey. Apart from the two stadiums being named after him, in Lucknow and Barabanki, nothing else is done to introduce the present generation of hockey players to the legend, whose name could be used to motivate them to gain greater glory.

The only occasion in a year when KD Singh’s name is remembered is when the under-14 hockey tournament is organised by the KD Singh ‘Babu’ Hockey Society in Lucknow. Incidentally, the 26^th edition of the tournament is presently on, with the final scheduled for February 6 – four days after the legend’s 93^rd birth anniversary on February 2.

The ignored plaque at the ‘Kunwar Digvijay Singh ‘Babu’ Marg’ (road) in Barabanki city, near Lucknow. Photo: Qaiser Mohammad Ali

“We, the ‘Babu’ Hockey Society, organise this tournament. We manage to get some sponsors to patronise this tournament, which is played at the KD Singh ‘Bbau’ Stadium. Last year we celebrated the silver jubilee of the tournament and gave Rs 10 lakh as prize money to five teams, thanks to our sponsors,” Syed Ali, a hockey Olympian and technical secretary of the Society, told jantakareporter.com.

“This year the prize money for the winners is Rs 1 lakh, the losing finalists will receive Rs 50,000 and the third placed team will get Rs 25,000 ,” said Syed Ali, who had special affinity for ‘Babu’ as he was coached and groomed by him.

“I was fortunate enough to have learnt the game from him for five years, from 1972 to 1975,” said the man who was part of the Indian team that won two silver medals at the Asian Games.

Kunwar Dhirendra Singh ‘Commander’, son of KD Singh ‘Babu’, too rues the failure of successive Uttar Pradesh governments to recognise the immense contribution his legendary father made to Uttar Pradesh’s and India’s fortunes as a player, coach and later as an administrator.

“He did not get his due,” Dhirendra Singh told jantakreporter.com, sitting in front of a couple giant photos of his father, a poster-size painting and the Helms Trophy, in the drawing room of his Lucknow residence.

Dhirendra Singh clarified that by “lack of recognition” he did not mean that the government should give the family of ‘Babu’ money, but that the honour could come in many different ways. “There has virtually been no recognition from the government, except the naming of the two stadiums after him,” he said ruefully.

“As a tribute to the legend, the KD Singh ‘Babu’ Society organises a tournament every year in his name,” Dhirendra Singh points out. “Besides that, the ‘Babu’ Society runs an academy for boys between age of five and 18 years in Lucknow. Presently, there are about 70 boys at the academy.”

Apart from these stadiums named after KD Singh ‘Babu’, a road in Barabanki is also named after legend. But the district administration’s apathy towards the versatile hockey player is starkly visible from the stone plaques on both ends of the road. They are completely invisible behind paper bills and outgrown bushes while a bill board on top of the plaques, on the edge of Lucknow-Faizabad highway, attract all the attention (see photo).

This, despite the ancestral home of ‘Babu’ (see photo), as well as a cabinet minister of Akhilesh Yadav’s government and a senior Rajya Sabha member of the Congress party having their residences on the same road.

KD Singh ‘Babu’ was a man of principles and he never compromised with that, said Dhirendra Singh, who himself was a good cricketer. He said that but for a word of recommendation from his influential father he might have progressed further in the game.

“When I asked my father if he could put in a word, he told me firmly not to expect him to seek favours for my selection,” he said, recalling those words that he still clearly remembers.

KD Singh, who attended a Government School in Barabanki and Kanyakubj Inter College in Lucknow, was a truly multi-faceted personality who also served as coach of the Indian hockey team that competed at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Dhirendra Singh has many tales to tell about his famous father – the player, the sports administrator, and the man. He, however, candidly admits that by the time he grew up and started understand the game his father, one of the six brothers, had retired.

What Dhirendra Singh does remember is watching his father work as a sports administrator. As a cricketer, KD Singh scored three “classical” centuries in the Sheesh Mahal Tournament, now discontinued, he said. “He would play cricket with a hockey stick in the nets,” informed Dhirendra Singh.

In hockey circles in Lucknow, a story goes that ‘Babu’ would dribble the hockey ball from Barabanki to Lucknow, all of 27 kilometres. But Dhirendra Singh says it was not true, though he was an early riser and would train every morning with utmost sincerity.

“My father had a strict regimen. He would have dinner at exactly at 9 pm and go to sleep at 9.30 pm. He would wake up at 4 am for training. He would do dribbling, running and brisk walking for about eight kilometres every morning,” said Dhirendra Singh.

KD Singh ‘Babu’, who served as Director Sports in Uttar Pradesh, was instrumental in setting up the present-day Lucknow Sports College and Sports Hostels, said his son.

“He was offered the post of Director of National Institute of Sports in Patiala when it was opened. He was also offered several coaching jobs outside Uttar Pradesh. Hong Kong government wanted him to settle down in the city-state,” said Dhirendra Singh. “But he was disillusioned with the prevailing system [in India].”

Dhirendra Singh also said that his father was kind hearted person. “After India’s war with China, ‘Babu’ offered to donate one of his Olympic medals to help the soldiers. But the then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister CB Gupta declined it, saying that the medal was a national honour,” he informed.

EXCLUSIVE: Did a top DDCA official sabotage India-Sri Lanka T20 tie in Delhi?

Qaiser Mohammad Ali, www.JantaKaReporter.com

@AlwaysCricket

It has now emerged that a top DDCA administrator “never wanted the India-Sri Lanka T20 International to be played at the Kotla” and that was why the “news” of DDCA having been allotted the match was “deliberately” kept away from retired justice Mukul Mudgal, who was to oversee this match.

According to multiple sources, this DDCA administer, who has widely shown his “displeasure” at the appointment of justice Mudgal to conduct matches due to the association’s inability to perform this task competently, didn’t let the “news” of the Sri Lanka match, scheduled for February 12, 2016, reach the former chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

DDCA insiders say that the attempt to “self-destruct” by this DDCA official is bewildering and his act has cost the association a handsome income, which will now be earned by Jharkhand Cricket Association, where the T20 Match has been shifted to by the BCCI.

DDCA officials cannot say that they were unaware that the Sri Lanka match was to be played in Delhi in February due to some hard facts.

Consider these facts: Eight months ago, the BCCI’s Tour Programme and Fixtures Committee, at a meeting held in Kolkata on May 24, had allotted the India-Sri Lanka T20 International to Delhi (besides Visakhapatnam and Pune). The BCCI duly announced this through a press release the same day.

The BCCI press release had specifically said: “Sri Lanka will play 3 T20 Internationals in February 2016.” The exact dates were announced later.

Another fact is that DDCA club secretary Sunil Jain, then a member of the Tour Programme and Fixtures Committee, had attended that meeting and had duly informed his DDCA colleagues about the outcome of that meeting, besides the BCCI separately intimating the association about it being allotted the match.

It was expected of the DDCA to have started preparations for this match well in time, instead of leaving it till the eleventh hour to seek permissions.

Then, on 14 November, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, in an email addressed to Chetan Chauhan and SP Bansal (accessed by JantaKaReporter.com), the supposed ‘working president’ and ‘suspended president’ respectively, reminded them that since the DDCA had been allotted the India-Sri Lanka T20 match and ICC World Twenty20 games, the association should get all permissions in “accordance of the laws of the land and the guidelines of the ICC”.

However, sources say that neither Thakur’s email nor the news of allotment of the India-Sri Lanka T20 International was shared with some key people, including Mudgal, who on directions of the Delhi High Court had supervised the fourth India-South Africa Test in Delhi last month.

Former DDCA director Suresh Chopra, who was responsible for securing all permissions for the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 matches at the Kotla and also the India-Sri Lanka T20 game, said that Chauhan told Mudgal for the first time about Sri Lanka match only on 24 January, which was too late to get all required permissions from government agencies.

It is quite possible that Mudgal had not heard about the Sri Lanka match being allotted to the DDCA before 24 January when he called a meeting of a DDCA core committee at his residence.

Chopra said that he immediately set about applying for permissions with the various government agencies, except MCD, the very next day.

“During a meeting with Mr Mudgal on 24 January, Chauhan told him that the DDCA had been allotted an India-Sri Lanka T20 International too. Before that meeting, I had already applied with government agencies, barring the MCD, for the requisite permission for staging ICC World Twenty20 matches,” Chopra told jantakareporter.com.

“After Chauhan told Mudgal about the Sri Lanka match, I immediately issued a corrigendum to all the government departments the next day [25 January], signed by Chauhan, saying that in addition to the ICC World Twenty20 matches, the DDCA would also need permission to stage an India-Sri Lanka T20 match on 12 February. And we even got permissions from some departments,” Chopra explained. “I was not responsible for applying permission from the MCD as that responsibility was of Chauhan, treasurer Ravinder Manchanda and Siddharth Singh Verma (DDCA director).”

It is pertinent to note that Mudgal had praised the work done by Suresh Chopra in his report on the India-South Africa Test, played in Delhi last month, submitted with the Delhi High Court. “Mr. Suresh Chopra, venue manager for the Test match, who was entrusted with the task of seeking permissions from various departments at the last minute, did his job day and night diligently. It was only with his concerted help and persistent efforts that permissions could be obtained from the various departments at such short notice,” Mudgal had written, besides praising some other DDCA officials.

However, the moot question being asked by some DDCA directors is: Why did the DDCA official deliberately supress the news of Delhi being allotted the India-Sri Lanka T20 game, and whether he is bigger than the association?

“One particular DDCA official went around saying that he was not happy at the appointment of Mudgal to supervise international matches at the Kotla as he had ‘hampered’ his freedom to work as per his whim and fancy. This official was not allowed to have is say by Mudgal, who instead stuck to transparency ways of working in everything he supervised — and that seemed to have annoyed this official as he is known for his non-transparent ways of working,” said a source.

Interestingly, a few colleagues of this DDCA official wanted the appointment of Mudgal to supervise international matches at the Kotla and for that they moved an application in the Delhi High Court.

Now that the BCCI has shifted the Sri Lanka match to Ranchi, it remains to be seen if this DDCA official would be held responsible for the huge embarrassment cause to the association, besides monetary loss, and punished. Going by the DDCA’s history, it is highly unlikely.

There could be more embarrassment coming DDCA’s way. The BCCI has given the DDCA a deadline of 31 January to secure all permissions for the ICC World Twenty20, otherwise those 10 matches would also be relocated to other venues. If that happens it would mean no World Cup matches in national capital – in other words, more capital embarrassment for the mismanaged DDCA. And the story goes on.

DDCA CRICKET CORRUPTION: AAM AADMI PARTY ONLY TOLD 30%-40% OF WHOLE TRUTH, WILL DO BIG DISCLOSURE WITH WIKILEAKS ON SUNDAY, THUNDERS KIRTI AZAD

Qaiser Mohammad Ali

@AlwaysCricket

BJP MP Kirti Azad said on Thursday that he was going to make a big “khulasa” (disclosure) about the alleged “rampant corruption” in the Delhi and District Association (DDCA) at a press conference with Wikileaks on Sunday.

 Kirti, a former India Test player, said that the disclosures that the Aam Aadmi Party made about corruption in the Delhi and District Association (DDCA) was only “35 per cent to 40 per cent” of the material he has and that he was going to reveal much more.

“It was huge but it was very little compared to what I have. I don’t know where they got their information from, though it was correct. But many of the facts they could not put properly, like it was not ‘lakhon ka…[corruption]’ but it was ‘karoron ka…’. Right?” he said.

“The corporate boxes were not given unauthorisedly; it was unauthorised construction [of the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium]. A notice was sent by L&DO (Land and Development Office) to the DDCA, [saying] that they would re-enter [an agreement with the DDCA],” said Azad, who has been leading the crusade against corruption in the DDCA that he once represented.

“There were quite a few [issues], about which I am going to do a ‘khulasa’ [disclosure] with Wikileaks at 4 pm on Sunday,” he said.

EXPLOSIVE INTERVIEW OF A SENIOR DELHI CRICKET DIRECTOR

Tremors in DDCA: ‘The epicentre is somewhere else,’ says DDCA club secretary Sunil Jain

 

Qaiser Mohammad Ali, Managing Editor, www.JantaKaReporter.com
@AlwaysCricket

 

Raising a revolt, DDCA club secretary Sunil Jain has charged that the corruption-afflicted association is being run by ‘resolutions by circulation’ and, using an earthquake analogy, alleged that its ‘epicentre was somewhere’ outside the Ferzosehah Kotla.

By ‘epicentre was somewhere’ he hinted that some people outside of the DDCA were actually running show through their proxies.

Jain, known for his integrity and honesty, said he was deliberately being ignored by some of his DDCA colleagues as he has refused to toe their line blindly, and claimed that he was not even being invited for executive committee meetings.

Jain said minutes of executive committee meetings are not circulated for several months and that often decisions taken at meetings are not exactly mentioned in the minutes — provided they are circulated at all.

“Like there is always an epicentre of an earthquake, DDCA too has an epicentre somewhere,” Jain told jantakareporter.com teasingly, implying that the association was actually being run on instructions of some people outside the Kotla where the DDCA headquarters are.

Although Jain didn’t take any names, he cited the case of 12 resolutions that were recently circulated among DDCA directors for their signatures. Not just Jain, but several other DDCA officials, including some members of the executive committee, say they are routinely called at different places and asked to sign important documents.

The balance sheet of year 2013-14 is a case in point. It is believed that not all 27 directors have signed the balance sheet, which apparently has many unanswered questions.

Jain said he, for instance, not signed it. “I didn’t receive the resolution through which the 2013-14 DDCA balance sheet was passed,” he disclosed.

It is the same contentious balance sheet in which the DDCA’s auditors had raised many objections in an internal audit report, including the alleged illegal transfer of Rs 1.55 crore out of the association.

The 2013-14 balance sheet and accounts have been sent to the BCCI, which will now get it thoroughly audited before releasing the DDCA’s share of money with it.

Now, it is said that the internal report of 2014-15 is ready, but apparently it has not been circulated among all the directors as yet, or maybe not among all of them.

“This association is being run through resolutions,” thundered Jain. “This despite the fact that I said in the September 4 executive committee meeting – the last one to be held — that such kinds of resolutions should not be adopted and that everything should be discussed in meetings.”

Jain said democratic functioning of the DDCA has ceased to exist. “We are living in a democratic country. So, they should at least maintain some sort of democracy,” he pointed out, emphasising that decisions are routinely being taken through resolutions by circulation.

A businessman, Jain said that decisions taken in such a manner wouldn’t stand test of the law of the land. “All decisions taken through resolution by circulation have to be ratified by the executive committee, only then will they have sanctity and become binding,” said Jain, who is familiar with the laws as he himself runs a company.

In September-end and this month, general secretary Anil Khanna circulated at least 14 resolutions by circulation that sought the DDCA directors to sign and agree to annul all allegations of financial embezzlement against their co-directors, police complaints, and FIRs, amongst other things. But the four most contentious resolutions were rejected.

“If those resolutions were passed by circulation, they were never sent to me. But since the DDCA is Section 8 company, there must be a method to move resolutions by circulation,” Jain said. “I’ve heard that those who signed the resolutions were called somewhere outside the Kotla and made to sign like bonded labourers.”

Apart from Jain, the two other directors who didn’t sign the resolutions by circulation are Dinesh Saini and Brij Mohan Gupta.

“Till today no resolution by circulation has stood the test of law in a court. In DDCA, there have been several resolutions in last 10 years that have never been ratified by the executive committee,” he claimed.

Continuing this attack, Jain said, “No minutes have been passed for almost a year. They write something different in minutes from what exactly transpires at meetings despite there are video recordings of meetings. They don’t give CDs of the video recordings of meetings. Minutes of executive committee meetings since December 2014 haven’t been passed. You won’t see so much mismanagement anywhere.”

One reason that Jain is being ignored by his colleagues could be that he headed an in-house fact-finding committee that investigated alleged widespread and rampant financial corruption in the DDCA, and submitted a scathing report.

Interestingly, amongst the other things that the recent resolutions by circulation sought to annul was Jain committee’s this 50-page report.

The Jain committee was tasked to probe “large scale financial irregularities”, including the alleged illegal transfer of Rs.1.55 crore during the financial year 2013-14.

The upcoming India-South Africa Test is another huge cause of embarrassment for the DDCA, which was allotted the match as early as May by the BCCI. Despite that, Jain said, the match was not discussed at the September 4 executive committee meeting.

“In that meeting, the match was not included in the agenda,” he said. “And I have been requesting the video recording of that meeting but haven’t received it yet. Those who don’t accept wrongdoings are categorised as being against the association.”

Jain’s other grievance is that he had come to know that he was initially included in an organising committee constituted for this Test match – again through a resolution by circulation – but was dropped without his knowledge.

“Earlier, the organising committee comprised 14 members, including me. But now it has only 13 members. I did not withdraw; I think I am a competent person. But nobody took my consent. They never invited me. Perhaps, I don’t suit them. These decisions are being taken without the executive committee meetings,” he said.

DDCA patron Suresh Chopra was appointed chairman of this 13-member committee constituted to conduct the Test match, starting on December 3.

“They’ve appointed Suresh Chopra venue director for the match. Which committee has made this appointment? Appointing Chopra also means that all 24 [elected] or 27 directors [including] of the executive committee are incompetent,” he said.

One of the 12 resolutions passed recently was to appoint a three-member finance and audit committee that will handle all financial matters.

“Does it mean that they are scrapping the existing finance committee appointed by the executive committee? I ask them: Can they overrule the existing finance committee by a resolution by circulation?” said Jain.

“In June 2014, the executive committee had constituted the finance committee. But two members of that committee were changed in the minutes of that meeting without any discussion. We have video recording of that executive committee meeting,” he said. “If trust deficit crops up in an association and honesty is non-existent, then…”

BCCI PRESIDENT MANOHAR REJECTS KEJRIWAL-HEADED DELHI GOVT’S PROPOSAL TO JOINTLY ORGANISE FOURTH INDIA-SA TEST IN DELHI

Qaiser Mohammad Ali, Managing Editor, www.JantaKaReporter.com

@AlwaysCricket

BCCI president Shashank Manohar on Saturday rejected an offer from Arvind Kejriwal’s Delhi government to jointly host the fourth and final Test match against South Africa in Delhi, saying that the Delhi and District Cricket Association was the lone legitimate body to stage the game.

A special committee of the Delhi government met Manohar in Nagpur on Saturday to explore the possibility of jointly organising the five-day Test after the Chief Minister’s Office had received “some serious complaints” about “financial irregularities and wrong-doings” against the DDCA and some of its officials/members.

Manohar, however, “clearly” told the committee that the BCCI would not allow any government, and not just Kejriwal’s Delhi government, to administer cricket.

“How can we agree to a government hosting a match? If a match has to be organised [in Delhi] only DDCA will have to host it. I have told this to the committee. We cannot allow the government to run the game,” Manohar told JantaKaReporter.com from his residence in Nagpur.

When asked if the Delhi government team had explicitly offered to jointly stage the Test at the Ferozeshah Kotla, Manohar said, “A discussion took place and during the discussion this issue cropped up. So, I clearly told him that we can’t allow the government to run the game – not just Delhi government but any government.”

How was the overall meeting? “All meetings are good. There is never any problem in meetings,” Manohar quipped.

Manohar, widely known for his integrity, said that since the BCCI has set a deadline of 17 November the DDCA, he would wait till that day for a reply from the association.

The BCCI has already announced that in case the DDCA was not able to host the game, Pune would stage it.

“I have given the DDCA time till 17 November. We will not take a decision before that day. Whatever time we have given, we will wait till then,” Manohar emphasised.

Manohar also clarified that Rajkot was not a second standby for the Test match, as some people were speculating in Delhi. “There is no standby. The game is allotted to Pune, if Delhi doesn’t host it,” he said.

Since the DDCA is virtually bankrupt at the moment, largely a making of its own administrators over the years, the association cannot organise the match without BCCI’s financial assistance.

A DDCA office-bearer said that the BCCI has been approached to release Rs 10 crore, subject to the match being held at the Kotla.

“I have no idea about that [DDCA’s financial health]. I have not received anything [request] from the DDCA,” Manohar said. “I will wait till the evening of 17 November [for a reply from DDCA]. But the decision has been made and it is that if DDCA is not able to host the match, Pune will host the game.”

There has been a talk in Delhi that since the India-South Africa series is being played for the Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela Trophy, and the spirit of the two giants was being invoked. Therefore, it was said, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would present the trophy at the end of the fourth Test. And since many of his ministers and dignitaries, including the South African High Commissioner to India, were likely to witness the match, the match should be held in Delhi.

A DDCA official confirmed that he has been sounded out about the presence of Modi and other dignitaries.

However, a top BCCI official said that there was no compulsion to host the Test in Delhi if the circumstances don’t allow that.

“It entirely depends on the Delhi government to grant or not grant the necessary permissions to the DDCA for hosting the match. There is nothing like the fourth Test has to be played in Delhi only. If that were the case, why Pune would be put on standby,” he asked.

DDCA treasurer Ravinder Manchanda welcomed the stand Manohar has taken.

“Naturally, our confidence goes up on hearing what Manohar has to say. It shows that the BCCI is with us [DDCA],” Manchanda told JantaKaReporter.com.

“Since time is short, we are still trying to get an appointment with Kejriwal. We are hoping to hear from his office tomorrow morning,” he said. “If we don’t get an appointment with him, one option before us would be to get a stay order from the Delhi High Court [to defer payment of Rs 24.46 crore entertainment tax the Delhi government has slapped on DDCA].”

Meanwhile, the Delhi government team returned from Nagpur and even started writing its report on Saturday evening. It, however, remains to be seen if the report would be made public.

Constituted by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, the three-member, led by Chetan B. Sanghi, Principal Secretary PWD, Urban Development & Vigilance, was given two specific areas to probe and report back.

They were: (i) A summary of the irregularities/wrong-doings, if any, by the DDCA, its officials and members; and (ii) Suggestions for revamping the DDCA to promote Cricket in the national capital.

The committee was given three days to submit its report to Sisodia.

While announcing the committee, the government clarified that Delhi should “not be deprived of good and international quality cricket” but refrained from “commenting about conjectures on the capability of the DDCA in hosting the Test between India and South Africa”, starting on 3 December.

DDCA’S Rs 24.46 crore TAX DUES, UNCERTAINTY AROUND 4TH INDIA-SOUTH AFRICA TEST AND DELHI CHIEF MINISTER'S ARVIND KEJRIWAL’S DILEMMA

Qaiser Mohammad Ali

@AlwaysCricket

Despite all the noises being made about how the DDCA doesn’t deserve to host the upcoming India-South Africa Test match next month due to its mismanagement, there is a strong, valid argument why the NDA’s central government would like the match to be played in Delhi.

One of foremost reasons is the trophy for which the four-match Test series is being played – the Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela Trophy – and India’s prestige involved with the match being in the national capital.

If you still haven’t got the drift, here it is: the top politicians, including the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministers, are expected to attend the match at the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium, provided the match is not relocated.

Top sources claim that Modi himself could be presenting the Gandhi-Mandela Trophy to the winning team captain at the end of the five-day match, which begins on 3 December.

“Amid the noises being made over corruption issues at the DDCA, no one seems to have given a thought to the prestige involved with this series and the allocation of the fourth and final Test in Delhi. It involves the name of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi and his South African counterpart Nelson Mandela,” a BCCI source told jantakareporter.com

“And when the name of Mahatma Gandhi is involved, naturally, the government of the day would also be involved. In this regard, Modi, is expected to present the Gandhi-Mandela Trophy to the winning team at the end of the game,” he said. “Not just Modi, but many of his ministers are expected to visit the Kotla, particularly on the final day of the match. That is the information we have got from the government.”

The source pointed out another “crucial” factor. “Not to forget that BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur is a BJP MP and close to many top politicians of his party, including Arun Jaitley, who ruled the DDCA as president for 14 years. It’s only natural that in some corner of his heart, Thakur would also want the PM to attend the match and present prizes,” he reasoned.

“We also have information that some important dignitaries from South Africa would also attend the match, including the High Commissioner of South Africa to India, in Delhi. He might also present a few prizes. Besides, the BCCI officials would also be in Delhi anyway on 7 December to attend the wedding of the daughter of Jaitley,” he said.

“But if the match is shifted to Pune, the same set of people would probably not be able to go there. So, the central government would be keen that the Test is played in Delhi, despite whatever reservations Arvind Kejriwal’s Delhi government and its agencies might have about the DDCA and the Kotla. Don’t rule out an understanding between the central and the Delhi governments on this particular issue.”

DDCA officials have approached Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal (above) to help it organise the fourth and final Test between India and South Africa at the Ferizeshah Kotla in Delhi starting from 3 December.

Giving various permissions is in the hands of Delhi government and the DDCA is facing problems in securing them due to overdue taxes, particularly entertainment tax demand of Rs 24.46 crore.

Now, what will Kejriwal, whose Aam Aadmi Party came to power on the plank of anti-corruption, do? If pressure is applied by the central government, would agencies under his government give the green signal to the messy DDCA to organise the Test match?

To compound the matter, DDCA top officials have not been able to get an audience with Kejriwal. But treasurer Ravinder Manchanda said that he and working president Chetan Chauhan met a committee (headed by Chetan B Sanghi, Principal Secretary PWD, Urban Development & Vigilance) that Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia constituted on Thursday.

“Chetan and I met the committee this afternoon and we had a good meeting. They said that they would try and resolve the entertainment tax issue. The impression that we have got is that the match in Delhi is on,” Manchanda told jantakareporter.com. “But the committee has called us again tomorrow along with other DDCA directors.”

When asked specifically about the realistic chances of the DDCA hosting the match, Manchanda said, “There are about 80 percent chances of Delhi staging the Test.”

DDCA is financially crippled, but Manchanda claimed that the BCCI would be releasing some money due to the DDCA soon.

“That will be no problem. We are talking to the BCCI and they might release about Rs 10 crore on tonight itself to organise the Test match,” he informed. 

BISHAN BEDI SEEKS DELHI CHIEF MINISTER KEJRIWAL’S HELP IN CLEANING UP DELHI CRICKET OF CORRUPTION

Qaiser Mohammad Ali

@AlwaysCricket

Bishan Singh Bedi, who as captain guided Delhi to Ranji Trophy finals four times and won the title twice between 1976-77 and 1980-81, on Thursday asked Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to help in cleaning the Delhi and District Cricket Association.

Bedi, who along a few former Delhi players discussed the same issues with Kejriwal a few days ago, said at a press conference that the “DDCA is terribly not conducive to host international matches”. The former India captain was referring to the scheduled India-South Africa Test match allotted to the DDCA, beginning on 3 December.

The match is in some doubt due to a huge tax demand slapped on the DDCA, which is virtually bankrupt at the moment due to its own making. It currently has Rs 13,o00 in its hands.

Bedi, however, made it clear that he was raising these issues with a “heavy heart” because if the match was eventually relocated to Pune or Rajkot, centres the BCCI has asked to be on standby, the loss would be of Delhi fans.

“It was expected, this was bound to happen,” Bedi, in his capacity as president of the NCT Cricket Association, said, referring to the BCCI ultimatum of the 17 November deadline for the DDCA to either say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to staging the five-day Test.

DDCA, as is mandatory, has to take permissions from several agencies of Delhi government, like entertainment, municipal, fire etc., without which an international match cannot be staged at the Ferzoshah Kotla Stadium.

The entertainment department, for instance, has slapped a demand of Rs 24.46 crore on DDCA, apparently for dues going back several years.

“This has been going on for so many years with, so many errors and such glaring inefficacy that somebody had to take notice and stand up. I am glad to say this that the present chief minister of Delhi [Kejriwal] has genuinely felt the need to know what the hell is going on,” Bedi said at the Press Club of India in New Delhi.

“As cricketers we are grateful that Mr Arvind Kejriwal has shown remarkable acumen to find out and go to the bottom of it all,” said Bedi.

The legendary left-arm spinner pointed it out and appealed that his crusade should not be seen as political move as Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party had defeated the BJP in Delhi assembly elections in February and the BJP has a hold on the DDCA.

“Our aim is not to politicise this particular press conference. We were asked by Arvind ji that if the Test match does not happen here then who will be at a loss. We said the people of Delhi will be at loss — because Ferozeshah Kotla belongs to the people of the capital not to a particular individual,” he said.

“We were able to convey to him that with a heavy heart… we feel that the situation today, the conditions prevailing in the parent body, that is DDCA, is not terribly conducive to organise a Test match which is an international event.”

Bedi also took a jibe at the DDCA administrators, saying that they have failed to even get an appointment with Kejriwal. “If the present set-up would have had strength then they would have got an appointment with Mr. Kejriwal. Even DDCA captain Gautam Gambhir got an appointment with the chief minister,” he said.

Gambhir met Kejriwal on Thursday, further fuelling speculation about the reason he had sought the meeting with the chief minister. Some people linked this meeting with the ongoing DDCA issues.

Claiming that the BCCI was also worried over the DDCA issues, Bedi said there was a need for the BCCI to set up a special committee to run its affairs, like it has done in Rajasthan’s case.

“That is what BCCI believes. That is why BCCI in the last meeting told Pune to be ready. This anticipation comes from the BCCI. I don’t want Delhi to be deprived of a Test but this has come from the BCCI that DDCA needs to procure these permissions before November 17 [the deadline],” he said. “The BCCI should be wide awake to the fact that they are running Rajasthan Cricket Association, so why can’t they appoint their own committee to run the affairs of DDCA.”

Bedi seemed peeved that the Prime Minister’s Office had not acted in the DDCA’s corruption issue.

“This fight is not new. We had sent a letter to the Prime Minister way back in July 2014. We are still awaiting a reply. Of course, the PM of the country has lot more pressing engagements than to divulge and find out the ills of DDCA,” Bedi said. “I would have thought surely some concern for cricket in the capital could have been made public by the PMO. But we are not complaining against the PMO, but we are extremely grateful that Arvind Kejriwal has taken it up upon himself.”

Apart from Bedi and Akash Lal, who chose to call the DDCA a “cricketing slum”, former India ODI player Surinder Khanna spoke at the press conference while renowned, Dronacahrya Award-winning coach Gurcharan Singh was also on the dais.

Bedi said that Kirti Azad, who is leading this ‘crusade’ against the DDCA, could not make it as he had to urgently go to Kolkata.

NCT Cricket Association Sameer Bahadur raised a serious issue of an underground sewer line that he claimed passes right through the Ferozeshah Kotla, particularly under the building that houses teams’ dressing rooms and the pitch.

Bahadur claimed this sewer has been deliberately punctured by some people in the DDCA and the District Disaster Management Authority’s Report is being looked into for determining the safety of the stadium and spectators who come to watch matches.

“How a 1,650 mm sewer line that passes through and under the wicket and the Kotla Stadium was illegally punctured? In an international match about 42,000 people watch the action and their lives were at a risk. We are sure Mr Kejriwal would not want to risk the lives of so many people,” he said.

DRAMATIC TWIST IN THE TALE: SHANSHANK MANOHAR DETHRONES SRINIVASAN WHO ONCE ‘PREDICTED’
ICC TOP JOB FOR HIM

Qaiser Mohammad Ali
@AlwaysCricket

When N. Srinivasan at the 2011 BCCI AGM in September said that since Shashank Manohar was quite “young” he should accept ICC’s leadership “sometime in future” little did he know that four years later his words would come true – and at his own expense.

Obviously, Srinivasan had absolutely no inkling that 1,409 days later, Manohar would replace him as ICC boss in most acrimonious circumstances — and after highly dramatic and rapidly changed scenario within the BCCI.

During that 2011 AGM, the last meeting for Manohar as BCCI president, Srinivasan had quite sensationally disclosed that at one point in time ICC member countries wanted Manohar to take charge as ICC president.

Manohar, then still 10 days shy of turning 54, had politely declined. Sources close to him told this reporter that he didn’t want to take over the ICC reins immediately after his three-year BCCI term as president (2008-11).

International Cricket Council headquarters in Dubai.

A little over four years, circumstances changed so dramatically that a reluctant 58-year-old Manohar, known widely for his clean image, was virtually forced into taking over the BCCI reins after the death of Jagmohan Dalmya in September.

Manohar had largely kept low — only occasionally speaking out against the vice-like grip of Srinivasan on the BCCI, particularly after the IPL betting scandal broke out – since demitting BCCI president’s office on 19 September 2011 and handing over the charge to Srinivasan.

In a speech praising Manohar at the 2011 AGM, Srinivasan had begun dramatically, said two officials who were present at the meeting.

“Srinivasan made the disclosure about the ICC presidentship offer for Manahar during his speech even as he profusely praised the hard work done by him [Manohar] during his three-year tenure (2008-11) as BCCI president,” the officials had told this reporter.

Addressing the BCCI general body, Srinivasan had said: “None of you know that he [Manohar] was once offered the ICC presidentship, but knowing the man he is, he declined the offer… But he is still quite young and I think he should accept it sometime in the future.”

After the AGM, Srinivasan independently confirmed to this reporter the ICC offer for Manohar. “People in the ICC felt that he should become the president — that’s the esteem in which they held him,” Srinivasan had said.

One possible reason why Manohar declined the offer was that he was to succeed an Indian as ICC president, Sharad Pawar, and two administrators from one country couldn’t have become president, unless the ICC constitution was changed.

When asked if the ICC constitution would be changed to accommodate Manohar, Srinivasan had that day simply said, “That’s speculative. Don’t ask me.”

Sources close to Manohar, however, said that he is a kind of person who hadn’t wanted to take up the ICC responsibility soon after the BCCI presidentship. “He wanted a gap between the two [high-profile] jobs,” one of them had said.

Whatever the real reason, Srinivasan’s ‘prediction’ on 19 September 2011 came true on 9 November 2015 – 1,409 days later.

There could perhaps be no better person than Manohar to guide the BCCI in the present circumstances, when the world’s wealthiest cricket board is under intense scrutiny from all sides, particularly after the 2013 IPL betting-fixing scandal.

However, before agreeing for the job, Manohar had made it clear that he would not tolerate interference from anyone. Another reason for his emphasis was that a day before taking over he got an opportunity to read the mind of former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha, under whom the Supreme Court has appointed a committee to recommend reforms for the BCCI.

Manohar, according to sources, announced many steps that Lodha would probably recommend in his report that he is due to submit with the Supreme Court next month. Some people in the BCCI are already jittery at the prospect of the wide ranging recommendations that Lodha, known for his integrity, is expected to make to the Supreme Court.

Manohar, who has two years are left in his tenure after Dalmiya governed for one year, has already implemented a few of the steps he had promised on October 4, including the BCCI Annual Report, which comprises the highly secretive balance sheet.

In the last few years the BCCI has been uploading a portion of the Annual Report, but on Monday, it posted the entire 152-page report, though again on indications from Lodha Committee, says sources.

FOR FIRST TIME IN ITS HISTORY, BCCI CROSSES Rs 5,000-CRORE MARK DESPITE Rs 208.69 CRORE DIP IN IPL EARNINGS

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali

For the first in its 87-year history, the BCCI has broken the Rs 5,000 crore barrier. In its balance sheet for the financial year 2014-15, which was disclosed on Monday, the wealthiest cricket body of the world was shown further consolidating its position at the top.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India is now worth a whopping Rs 5,436.897 crore. It had breached Rs 4,000 crore mark last year (2013-14).

As per its balance sheet for the 2014-15 financial year, the Board earned a total of Rs 1,348.03 crore. This figure has been arrived at by subtracting the 2013-14 gross total of Rs 4,088.94 crore from Rs 5,436.897 crore, the grand total for 2014-15.

In 2013-14, the BCCI’s income was Rs 1,139.36 crore and in 2014-15 it went up, the figure being Rs 1,266.41 crore.

The biggest source of the BCCI’s income in 2014-15 was, ironically, from the Champions League T20, a tournament that never gained as much popularity as much as the IPL, and was scrapped this year due to various reasons.

Although usually it is the media rights (from the series played in India) that fetches the BCCI the maximum revenue, this time the income from the Champions League T20 was more as the Board received a hefty compensation from STAR India Ltd., which held the media rights.

The income shown under Champions League T20 in 2014-15 is Rs 742.80 crore, which is more than the double of what the BCCI earned during 2013-14, which was Rs 327.50 crore. The difference was Rs 415.30 crore.

From the media rights, the BCCI earned Rs 30.58 crore less in 2014-15. In 2013-14, it had earned Rs 419.38 crore and in 2014-15 the corresponding figure was Rs 388.80 crore.

The revenue from the media rights, which is the income from the international matches played in India and in 2014-15, the BCCI had scheduled just one series — comprising five One-day Internationals against the West Indies. But due to differences between their players and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) over their payment structure, the Caribbean team did not complete the tour and abruptly left India.

The BCCI slapped a $41.97 million damages claim on the WICB. The WICB has expressed its inability to pay the amount as it is financially crippled. Now, instead of paying the amount, if the WICB agrees to play matches in India as compensation, that would help the BCCI earn some more revenue.

After the West Indies team’s pull out, the BCCI invited Sri Lanka for a five-ODI series which helped it earn some revenue.

Unlike the 2014-15 balance sheet, when the books are prepared for 2015-16, the media rights revenue would again shoot up as the BCCI has scheduled many matches at home in this ongoing financial year, 2015-16.

The scheduled includes four Tests, five One-day Internationals and three Twenty20 Internationals against South Africa between September and December, and five One-day Internationals and three T20 Internationals against Sri Lanka.

While the income from the Champions League T20 more than doubled, surprisingly the surplus from the lucrative IPL dipped by a whopping Rs 208.69 crore. In 2013-14, the IPL surplus was 334.86 crore and the next year it went down to Rs 126.17 crore.

The main reason for the dip in revenue is that the initial part of the 2014 IPL was held in the UAE. Due to this the BCCI had to pay a compensation of Rs 44.86 crores to the eight franchisees as the relocation of matches had impacted their income.

“Consequent to shifting of certain matches of IPL Season 2014 from India to the UAE, based on requests received from franchisees, the IPL Governing Council has approved an amount of Rs 44.86 crores as compensation towards loss of revenue of franchisees,” says the BCCI in its balance sheet.