UTCA silent over appointment of govt, retired officials as selectors

Ahead of the start of the domestic season, the Union Territory Cricket Association (UTCA) has remained tightlipped about the appointment of Central Government employees and those above the age of 60 as selectors for local squads in stark contrast with the rules published in the advertisement.

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The UTCA had invited applications from those below 60 years of age in their advertisement, but one of the selectors is said to be a retiree from another government job.

“A government employee can be part of the selection process, however under conditions which may include having honorary charge or prior permission from the respective office (as per rules) after revealing the exact salary or contract amount. In this case, the UTCA officials should have produced these documents,” said a senior functionary of a local sports association.

Notably, even after 120 hours of filing a query and repeated attempts for a comment, there has been no response from UTCA officials. The officials have not revealed if the

specific group of selectors are being paid annual contractual fee or salaries, and if these employees have taken prior necessary approvals/permissions from their respective government offices.

Trials held

The preparation for the UTCA domestic season started with the first phase of trials for senior men and women, at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium, on May 19. As per the UTCA communique, the first phase focused on the men’s senior team with 111 players being evaluated by selectors Amit Uniyal, Vishwas Bhalla and Parveen Sharma.

Simultaneously, trials for the women’s categories were held at the Guru Nanak Public School, Sector 36. These included assessments for the women’s senior team and U-23 probables. A total of 56 players were eligible for this season. Selection duties for the women’s trials were handled by Anoop Sondhi, Amit Prashar and Ambika Panjla.

Meanwhile, a total of 81 players have been selected from the recently concluded Gully Cricket Tournament, jointly organised by the UT Cricket Association (UTCA) and Chandigarh Police. They were called for trials today at Cricket Stadium, Sector 16. As many as 11 players have been shortlisted from the pool — Rajat Yadav, Simranjot Singh, Vishu, Ram Gopal Singh, Neeraj Kumar, Ronit, Anmol and Abhimanyu Prasad while in the girls’ category, Gitanshi Jyoti, Inayat Kapoor and Prabhjot Kaur. The final trials were conducted at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium.