Even as DDCA races against time to procure permission for hosting the final Test against South Africa, former India captain Bishen Singh Bedi today claimed the association is ill-equipped to host an international match with "rampant corruption" prevailing in the state body
New Delhi: Even as DDCA races against time to procure permission for hosting the final Test against South Africa, former India captain Bishen Singh Bedi today claimed the association is ill-equipped to host an international match with "rampant corruption" prevailing in the state body.
Bishen Singh Bedi
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Bedi, along with former Delhi players-turned crusaders had met Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to help clean-up the mess after the DDCA was given a November 17 deadline to establish its state of readiness to the Indian cricket Board.
The state government had also directed the DDCA to pay Rs 24.45 crores in entertainment taxes as DDCA is already struggling with internal strife.
"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 the hell is going on," Bedi told media persons at Press Club of India here.
"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.
With BCCI already announcing Pune as the back-up venue, the DDCA has also sought the state government's help to stage the fourth and final Test. Bedi insists that the veteran cricketers of Delhi are batting for the game of cricket and
not politicising the issue.
"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 loss.
"Because Feroz Shah Kotla belongs to the people of the capital not to a particular individual. We were able to convey to him that with a heavy heart we feel that the situation today, the conditions prevailing in the parent body that is DDCA, is not terribly conducive to organise a Test match which is an international event.
"Over the years that DDCA has earned, the bad reputation, that has not escaped the ICC. Delhi being the capital can you imagine what would have been the treatment meted to cricket in the other state associations," Bedi said.
"If the present set-up would have had strength then they would have got an appointment with Mr.Kejriwal. Even DDCA captain Gautam Gambhir got an appointment with the Chief Minister," he added.
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