File photo of Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda© AFP
The Ranji Trophy is no stranger to controversies. Now, another one is brewing in Rajasthan cricket with an active Indian cricket team star in the middle of it. Deepak Hooda, who has played 10 ODIs and 20 T20Is, is leading the Rajasthan team and has been unhappy with some selection calls. According to a report in Sportstar, he even decided to sit out of a practice session on the eve a match against Hyderabad in Jaipur.
“This has been an issue since the start of the season. There have been multiple disagreements over player selection between the ad hoc panel and the captain and coach. However, yesterday, things got a bit out of control as the captain, although he came for the practice session, continued to sit out. He was constantly on his phone, busy on calls with the ad hoc committee members and the Sports Minister (Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore),” the report quoted a source as saying on conditions of anonymity.
The report also said that an ad hoc committee member threatened to quit.
The ad hoc panel is headed by Jaideep Bihan. Ratan Singh is the convener and is assisted by Pawan Goyal, Dharmveer Singh Shekhawat and Harish Singh.
Dharmveer said: “These things happen when there are a number of people trying to make a decision. The more the heads, more the opinions. It isn’t wrong and it is not a controversy. The captain wanted wicketkeeper-batter Kunal Singh Rathore to continue despite the fact that he hasn’t performed for a while now. He has hit only one fifty in his last three games.”
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