'Capital' punishment for cricketers if Sehwag leaves

India opener Virender Sehwag has not opened any pandora’s box with his criticism of the way cricket officials function in Delhi, rather just lent the weight of his stature to the cause of frustrated cricketers.

The ad hoc functioning of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) is well known. The sports committee  names and influences various selection committees like a curse that threatens to rot the system in the Capital.

But if nothing comes of his meeting with DDCA president Arun Jaitley to sort out contentious matters, Sehwag’s proposed move to Haryana might just be the beginning of an exodus of big names from the capital, several junior cricketers having already opted for other states.

“The way cricket is being run and the way promising players are being sidelined, has left me with no other option. Let me see how the meeting goes,” re-iterated Sehwag.

According to a source in the Delhi Ranji team, Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra, Aakash Chopra and Mithun Manhas are all open to the idea of moving out. It is learnt that Chopra is already in talks with Maharashtra.

Several players from Delhi have, in the past, gone to other states, especially Haryana, for want of opportunities. But in recent years, it is because of the politics that pervades the Ferozeshah Kotla complex rather than the high standards that one saw in the past, when Rajinder Goel had to move out of Bishan Bedi’s shadow or Pradeep Jain found Maninder Singh too big a hurdle. 

Amit Mishra hails from Delhi but opted to play for Haryana early on despite having a cousin in the sports committee coterie. Several years before him, a certain Ajay Jadeja had done the same.

The past year has already seen two promising young cricketers, both sons of famous Delhi cricketers, make their move out to Haryana. Manan Sharma, an India under-19 cricketer and son of former Delhi skipper

Ajay Sharma has moved to the neighbouring state after realising that performances will not guarantee a place in the Delhi team. Similarly, KP Bhaskar’s son Rushil has moved to Haryana after being in the under-15 team here.

Among the junior lot in the Delhi Ranji squad, left-arm paceman Pradeep Sangwan and Mayank Tehlan, both Sehwag proteges, may also weigh their options if an exodus does take place. Tehlan is a cousin of Sehwag and the swashbuckling India opener has had to back him at different points in time.

On the other hand, the DDCA has been wary of Sehwag’s stature and has taken every opportunity to keep him at bay, an application for a new club in the DDCA too being pending for some years now.