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DDCA's functioning under scrutiny again, Under-19 team selected for Vinoo Mankad Tournament without trials
The DDCA announced the 23-member squad for the Vinoo Mankad Under-19 Tournament without trials. Rain prevented trials and Yo-Yo tests, yet the selection committee selected the team, raising questions. The DDCA's haste is being attributed to the BCCI deadline, as the last day for registration was near.
The Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) once again appears to be playing with the future of players. Whereas other state cricket associations had declared their teams two months back, the DDCA in a rush declared the 23-member team for the Vinoo Mankad Under-19 Tournament on Friday without conducting trials.
Worth mentioning here is that the junior and senior selection committees of the DDCA were constituted only on September 27th. After this, on October 1st, a list of likely players was made public, comprising around 160 players. Of these, 74 were Ranji players while the remaining players belonged to the Under-19 and Under-23 categories.
According to the time table, Under-19 and Under-23 players' trials and Yo-Yo tests were scheduled at the Palam Ground, whereas for Ranji players, Yo-Yo tests were to be conducted at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
The plan was to conduct trials over the next two days after the Yo-Yo test, but Delhi had been experiencing continuous rain for the past two days, preventing either the Yo-Yo test or the player trials. Despite this, the selection committee selected the players. The question arises: if trials and tests were not conducted, on what basis were the selections made?
The DDCA's haste stems from the BCCI's deadline. The last day to register players for the Vinoo Mankad Under-19 tournament was Friday at 12:00 AM, and the tournament is scheduled to begin on October 9th. In such a situation, the committee finalized the team based on previous trials of players from the previous season.
Junior Selection Committee Chairman Ashu Dani says that trials had been taking place for the past three to four days and the team was selected based on those trials. But the question is: when the committee was formed on September 27th and the list of probable players was released on October 1st, who was conducting those trials? This hasty and opaque selection process by the DDCA could affect the future of many deserving players.
