Bhopal: Discrepancies have once again cropped up in the selection of the Bhopal team for the ensuing under-18 cricket tournament. A complaint has been filed against the selection of Tanishk Yadav, who is the son of the head of the selection committee and former cricketer, JP Yadav. The complainant has claimed that Tanishk never scored enough to make it to the team.
A former divisional cricketer and businessman by profession has written to the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) to review the selection process. With a request for anonymity, he said the code of conduct of the association says that any person whose relative is appearing for the selection trial should not be present in the selection committee. Despite the said rule, Yadav remained the head of the committee and, himself, selected his son to play for the state capital, Bhopal.
The complainant said that the bias of Yadav had affected the future of many aspiring cricketers who came from marginalised families. They only hoped to get forward on their own merit and not on nepotism, he said. The complainant said there were many players who worked hard and made their way into the Top 32. But they lost the opportunity because of the privilege other people were born with, he added.
Earlier too, many senior cricketers have objected the selection procedure. They claimed that favouritism and selection done only to oblige personal relations had harmed cricket in Bhopal. Many a talented player had left the city team to play from nearby cities where they were not discriminated against, they said.
The complainant has said that he will send a stamped complaint to the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association according to the procedure to look into the matter. A member of the tournament organising committee, Sagar Raikwar, had earlier told Free Press that cricket was a game of uncertainties, making it difficult to determine who should be at the top. Denying the claims of bias in selection, he said selection was done according to the rules and only the best had been selected. The rest would soon get a chance, he added.
JP Yadav was unavailable when Free Press tried to contact him.
