DDCA Sports Working Committee kicks off on a positive note

The day had a dark start to it, with heavy rains lashing the city into potholed and flooded roads. But the scene inside the DDCA (Delhi and District Cricket Association) premises was far from dark. The newly elected Sports Working Committee (SWC) of the DDCA decided to do a first in calling upon players (current and former), umpires, coaches and a first among first in inviting some of the Women cricketers to a Planning workshop on the 18th of August. And come they did in large numbers as the room was buzzing with excitement through a large part of the day.  

While Arun Jaitley, the president of DDCA started the proceedings with a pinch of salt in hoping to see the level of enthusiasm maintained as the months go by, the air of optimism hovering around could not be missed, increasing in intensity as the Open house and sum-up sessions by the Committee members came about.

A couple of key members of World Cup winning teams, one from 1983 and the other from the more recent 2011 World Cup were invited to make their points as well. Both Madan Lal and Virender Sehwag, known to speak their minds and not moderate their words dictated by the forum did exactly that.

It was a run of emotions that was on display from Madan Lal to the DDCA members, an appeal to give up their egos, put their heads together and work towards a common goal with the rest of the stakeholders. Encouraging people to sit across the table and sort out issues where necessary, he requested that procrastination be abandoned and actions be adopted on-ground at the earliest.

Virender Sehwag’s presence and words were brief but not without their impact. He began his innings with a surprising stance, defending the media that reports invariably reflected reality. He appealed to the players to concentrate on the field while off-the-field transactions get handled by the administrators.  The administrators on their part were requested to provide a clean environment that would not allow unnecessary distractions to bother the players.

The open house session saw many a suggestion being forwarded – from transparent selections to using International quality balls for league matches to introducing a league format for Women players to increasing their fee to make cricket worthwhile financially. The scene of a girl requesting for fees to be enhanced to cover their conveyance expenses at the least was heart-wrenching and spoke of the misery that girls still go through to take up Cricket as a career option.

Gautam Vadehra, a member of the new SWC decided to do a momentary change of hat and appealed that T20 as a format not be encouraged with younger teams if quality and technique were to be preserved.  A refreshing posture from someone entrusted with safeguarding the interests of the game!

The sum-up sessions by Chetan Chauhan (Vice-President, Executive Committee), SP Bansal (Hon. Gen. Secretary, Executive Committee) and Ramesh Sachdeva (Vice-President, SWC) all touched upon selection matters, women’s cricket and opening Cricket academies with indoor facilities among others that could see progress in what appeared to be sincere pledges of intent. Medical support to current players which has been in place for a while and Insurance and Pension schemes for former players which would follow soon were some of the efforts worth a mention. The day ended on a high of promise, the initiative of such an open session in itself carrying more than a ray of hope. The proof of the pudding will of course be served in the coming months.