Attack on Bhandari puts Delhi selections in the spotlight

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 12

The Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) is in a bind. The shocking attack on its senior selection committee chairman and former India international Amit Bhandari, allegedly by an U-23 team reject Anuj Dedha and his supporters, has once again brought the selection process under the scanner. The Delhi selectors have more often than not found themselves in the eye of the storm, and have copped a lot of flak for some iffy selections. 

The ruckus created by one Navdeep Tomar and his supporters after he was ignored about a decade back, the disbanding of the selection committee after it picked up Tomar as the 16th member of the Ranji Trophy squad, and a parent of an aspiring cricketer slapping a Delhi selector indicate selections have been controversial, if not biased. 

Complaints against Bhandari panel 

Even against the current selection ommittee, headed by Bhandari, there have been many complaints. DDCA officials, however, did not act, allegedly because they didn't want to be seen as interfering in selection matters, a charge that has been the bane of DDCA for many years. In the heyday of proxy elections, the then powerful sports committee members were known to pressurise the selectors to accommodate players of their choice. The present committee, too, has been accused of favouring a few.

ONGC clout

Critics allege that the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) players were preferred in the senior teams as Bhandari, coach Mithun Manhas and even skipper Nitish Rana have links with this public sectory company. Critics point out two selections in particular as proof of their allegations. Sarthak Ranjan, who is the son of Pappu Yadav and Ranjitha Ranjan, both Member of Parliament from Bihar, was once again included in the team for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy despite not scoring many runs in the run-up to the tournament. 

Also, Prashant Bhandari, who played U-16 cricket for Delhi and is on an ONGC stipend, was part of the squad for all Ranji Trophy matches this season but never made it to the playing XI. 

Interestingly, last year Delhi’s senior selection committee was criticised for selecting Ranjan in the zonal leg of the Syed Ali Mushtaq Trophy without observing him play a competitive match. The Atul Wassan-led committee was accused of giving Ranjan two matches against weaker oppositions so that he could qualify for the IPL auction.

U-23 mess

The Bhandari panel has also been accused of creating a mess in the state’s U-23 team. As many as 30 players played for Delhi in the U-23 CK Nayudu Trophy. In all, 38 players were registered for the U-23 tournament. Despite all the experimentation, Delhi failed miserably. The lack of results has all but sealed the fate of the selection committee, but the axe is likely to fall in March, when the season ends.