Less than two weeks after the Supreme Court observation that “politicians and businessmen heading sports bodies in India was causing harm and, it was high time that they made way for sportspersons”, former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi has decided to unshackle the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) from the tenacious grip of politicians, says a report in the DNA.
The veteran cricketer has decided to challenge long-serving president Arun Jaitley, also the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, for the top post in the December 30 elections. The 67-year-old legend told DNA it was high time that a cricketer was put at the helm of affairs, and given the mandate to cleanse the alleged corrupt practices in Delhi.
“Before Jaitley took over as president, cricket was the only topic being discussed in DDCA. But sadly, today cricket has gone to the dogs. So much of money has been wasted during his tenure that Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has now indicted the current office-bearers on several accounts,” said Sameer Bahadur, secretary of NCT Cricket Association (formerly Delhi Cricketers’ Association), of which Bedi is a president.
According to a report in Deccan Herald, Bishan Singh Bedi said, “Yes, I have decided to contest for the president’s post in the upcoming DDCA elections. It’s time that one stands up and protests against the manner in which the association is being run.”
Asked as to what prompted him to fight the elections, Bedi was prompt in his reply: “Don’t you guys see what kind of financial bungling has happened in the State association over the years? “You know that SFIO (Serious Frauds and Investigations Office) has been carrying out a probe against DDCA for financial irregularities. That’s one of the primary reasons for me being ready to contest the elections,” Bedi stated.
Apart from the administrative reasons, the cricketing reasons are also there which include 40 players being selected in the Delhi A (U-25) team that took part in the CK Nayudu Trophy, the decision of the senior team to play their matches at the Roshanara ground instead of Feroze Shah Kotla as well as playing rookie Haryana pacer Navdeep Saini in the Delhi senior team in the Ranji match against Vidarbha that concluded on Monday.
