DDCA to ban Amit Bhandari’s attacker Anuj Dedha for life

Chairman of the DDCA senior selection committee and former India medium pacer Amit Bhandari was attacked by goons at St. Stephen’s College on February 10. As per reports, the attackers were sent by U23 player Anuj Dedha who had failed to make it to the selection trials for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Bhandari and his colleagues from the selection committee were at the trials held at St. Stephen’s College when he was attacked with bats, hockey sticks and rods. When they tried to retaliate, the attackers threatened to shoot Bhandari. He had been receiving threats over the last few days and was rushed to a nearby hospital after sustaining injuries but was declared out of danger.

The DDCA has decided to impose a life ban on the cricketer and they will also probe into matters in which selectors are forced to pick a few players in the team. “I agree with Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir’s suggestion and we will be banning Anuj for life,” DDCA president Rajat Sharma told the Times of India (TOI).

“The angle of a larger conspiracy needs to be explored. There needs to be an extensive investigation in this matter. I have also decided that there will be a probe into all the complaints regarding selectors getting calls to pick certain players. There have been several such complaints this year. The LG has assured me that he will extend his support in this matter,” Sharma added.

DDCA in the bad books

Former India cricketer Kirti Azad threw more light on the matter, saying that forceful selections have historically been a norm in the DDCA. “It has been a history in DDCA that every couple of years, a goon tries to force his way into the squad, not on merit, but on the back of strong arm tactics. The past has seen entire Selection Committees being sacked rather than pressurising the police to register criminal cases against the delinquent cricket players,” Azad wrote in a letter to Sharma.

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