The senior men’s selection committee meet of the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) was deferred after Secretary Ashok Sharma attempted to attend the meeting.
Controversy erupted in the Delhi & District Cricket Association after the senior men’s selection committee meeting was deferred after secretary Ashok Sharma attempted to attend the meeting. As reported, Sharma insisted on attending the meeting despite the Ombudsman’s directive of barring the Apex Council members from participating in selection committee proceedings.
As per rule no 24 sub section 1 & 2 of the Article of Association of DDCA, the secretary cannot attend the meeting of the Selection Committee. The rule states that the “management of Cricketing matters such as selection, coaching and evaluation of team performance shall be exclusively handled by the Cricket Committee comprising only Players as setout in Article 29.”
It adds, “The reports of the Cricket Committee shall be sent to CEO for being forwarded to the Apex Council, but the CEO shall not in any way be involved in the preparation, approval or amendment of the same.”
Meanwhile, director Manjeet Singh opposed Sharma’s attempt to attend the meeting. Along with him, Anand Verma and Harish Singla advised the secretary not to participate in it. The meeting was deferred after Sharma refused to comply.
This matter is being seen as a direct violation of the Ombudsman’s order, which clearly states that no member of the Apex Council can be part of the selection committee. The issue also references a previous case from 2023, when an order was passed by Hon’ble Justice (Retd.) MM Kumar in the dispute between Rupesh Raj and Siddharth Sahib Singh. At that time, the then Secretary of DDCA, Mr Siddharth Sahib Singh, was directed not to interfere in any selection process or meetings of the selection committee until further notice. Additionally, he was also barred from convening such meetings or acting as a mediator in any such proceedings.
As per the Ombudsman order,
“Mr. Siddharth Sahib Singh, Secretary of the DDCA shall not interfere in the selection process and meetings of any Selection Committee(s) till further orders. Further, he is barred from convening or acting as a Moderator in any such meeting.
(ii) The meeting of the Selection Committee(s) shall be convened by the Chairperson of the respective Selection Committee(s), who are obviously ‘Player’, till further order.
(iii) The meeting(s) of the Selection Committee(s) shall be held physical form. All proceedings of the Selection Committee(s) must be video-graphed in terms of the past practice. Further, the appointment and attendance of the Observer viz. Mr. Tanvir Nayar, Advocate in such meeting shall continue in terms of Order dated 04.10.2022 passed by my predecessor, till further orders.
(iv) The meeting(s) of the Selection Committee(s) must be conducted in strict compliance of the Articles of Association of DDCA unless otherwise directed.”
Notably, Sharma reacted to the allegations, saying that the selection process raised the concerns over the functioning of the committee. He said that the selection committee should have cricketers, and it should be convened by the secretary.
“It has come to our attention that the recent selection committee meeting deviated from past practices, where only the Secretary and Joint Secretary were present. However, today, a few directors also attended the meeting, which raises concerns about potential bias and undue influence. Notably, one of the directors’ presence seems particularly pertinent given that their family member is a candidate for selection. We kindly request that future selection committee meetings adhere to established protocols to maintain transparency, fairness, and the integrity of the selection process,” Sharma said in a release.