Delhi CAC sacks chief selector Wassan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 18

The Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) and controversy cannot stay apart for long. With clockwork precision, DDCA is mired in another controversy which erupted after newly-appointed Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) sacked Atul Wassan, the chairman of the senior selection committee.

CAC — which comprises Robin Singh Sr, Parvinder Awana and Sumit Narwal — was reconstituted on Monday and merely two days later, Wassan and Mayank Tehlan, chairman of the junior selection committee, were sacked today.

Former player Bantoo Singh has replaced Wassan as the chairman of the senior selection committee, and a new set of junior selectors — Ashu Dani, Karan Dubey and Pradeep Chawla — has been appointed.

Robin Singh did not attend the meeting and instead Sanjay Bharadwaj, Director (Cricket) of DDCA, oversaw the meeting as convenor.

Interestingly, Bantoo has served as a member of several committees in the past, including both senior and junior selection committees. Officials say that he has already served for over five years, which is the maximum anyone can serve as per the new DDCA constitution.

“They are saying Atul Wassan was never present during net sessions. When asked to come, he had a ready excuse that he was out of the country. So he was sacked,” a DDCA official said on the condition of anonymity.

Both Wassan and the CAC members were unavailable for comments.

The decision has not gone down well in sections of DDCA, and many members have raised objections about the decisions, which they say are against directive of DDCA ombudsman Badar Durrez Ahmed. In his last hearing, Ahmed had directed that status quo should be maintained in all the committees.

“They are violating ombudsman’s orders. Also, I am surprised that Sanjay Bharadwaj attended the meeting as convenor. I don’t think he is authorised to take part in the meeting,” said another official.