Gautam Gambhir slams DDCA officials for poor administrative work

Gautam Gambhir lashes out at DDCA for ignoring Delhi cricket

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has said that if Delhi wins the Ranji Trophy, it will be a massive slap in the face of many in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). The 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season did not start ideally for Delhi; Gambhir was leading a team whose core players had moved on or were dropped.

In recent times, DDCA has been plagued by factionalism and corruption, and Gambhir’s team has had to play through it all. Delhi have 24 points from six matches and are leading Group A. When asked how he feels about that, the 34-year-old said to The Indian Express:

“It doesn’t surprise me. It doesn’t satisfy me. When we started this season, the preparation was far from ideal. Young kids in the team would look around and find that no one stood for us. No support from the association, from anyone, on any front. But that was an extra motivation for all of us to go there and win the Ranji Trophy.

“So yeah, we are topping the table, but the bigger goal is to win the Ranji Trophy. That will be a massive, massive slap in the face for a lot of people who haven’t done anything for cricket and yet have been on top posts in the DDCA.”

Even at the best of times in recent years, Delhi have failed to perform to their potential. Given the circumstances, no one gave much chance to a team that was young and inexperienced. However, under Gambhir’s leadership, things turned out for the better quickly. In their most recent match, Delhi demolished Maharashtra in just two days.

The Delhi batsman is not taking things easily, even though they are at the top of their league. He feels there is still a long way to go.

“I think it’s just a good start. We can’t be complacent. We may be at top of the table, but come November 15 (when Delhi play against Assam), 9’o clock, it will be even-stevens. Whether we have qualified, or whether we play a team which is at the bottom of the table, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is you’ve still got to go and play a good game of cricket and win it. That’s what excites me.”

Is he thinking of making a comeback to the Indian team?

“At the moment, doing well for the Delhi team is my objective. All others things are by-products. If I start thinking that I want to make a comeback into the Indian team and I want to score runs for myself, it will be very selfish of me as a leader,” he said.