Need to clean up DDCA, says Bedi
Yesteryears’ great Bishen Singh Bedi laid siege at the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) office bearers, terming them ‘corrupt’, reports the Times of India.
The DDCA is fighting deadline to repay the outstanding sum of Rs 22 crores for entertainment taxes to the revenue ministry. The BCCI has clarified that unless the state association pays the amount, it won’t be allotted the fourth and final Test of the ongoing India-South Africa Test series.
"It was expected, this was bound to happen. This has been going on for so many years with so many errors and such glaring inefficacy that somebody had to take notice and stand up and I am glad to say this that the present chief minister of Delhi has genuinely felt the need to know what is going on," Bedi told media persons on Wednesday.
Echoing the urge of many current and former players to clean up the association, Bedi slammed the current setup of bureaucrats within the DDCA for their ill management and alleged financial irregularities.
"And as cricketers we are grateful that Mr. Arvind Kejriwal has shown remarkable acumen to find out and go to the bottom of it all," the legendary spinner added.
"Our aim is not to politicise this particular press conference. We were asked by Arvind ji that if the Test match does not happen here then who will be at a loss and we said that the people of Delhi will be at a loss. Because Feroz Shah Kotla belongs to the people of the capital, not to a particular individual,” Bedi stated.
Gambhir slams DDCA
Earlier this week, former India opener and Delhi’s current Ranji captain Gautam Gambhir ripped into the DDCA officials, saying a Ranji triumph for Delhi team would be a massive slap for the association.
Recently, the DDCA has made the news for all the wrong reasons with corruption charges levied against them. “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,” Gambhir said.
The DDCA faces a race against time to hold onto the fourth and final Test of the Freedom Series. If they lose the high-profile Test, there would be serious question marks on them hosting the T20 World Cup matches next year as well.