For UPCA, ‘all is well’ after sacking of coaches

LUCKNOW: All is not well in the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association at least for now, after the ‘controversial’ sacking of its Ranji Trophy coach Mritunjay Tripathi and bowling coach Ashish Winston Zaidi in the middle of the domestic season.

According to sources, the act of UPCA bosses has reportedly irked some senior players and officials who may also migrate to other states in the next season. “It’s suffocating now. There is always a pressure from different quarters to let certain players play in the final XI. That is the reason why the team has failed to do well this season in Ranji,” a senior team member told the HT on condition of anonymity, on Thursday. “I can also think of leaving the state next season,” he added. He said replacing Tripathi and Zaidi with former Karnataka captain Sujith Somasundar and former Karnataka coach Mansur Ali Khan, and that too without any discussion, was sheer humiliation to UP cricketers. “Both Mritunjay and Zaidi were associated with the team from their heart and were doing well on the ground. If the two are held responsible for the team’s poor show, then others in the team management as well as the selectors should also be blamed and should subsequently face sacking,” he said.

“How could UPCA bosses single out Mritunjay and Zaidi for the team’s poor show? Did they tell players not to perform on the ground or they asked the rivals to play better cricket than UP players in the matches? What will happen to Sujith and Mansur, even if team continues to perform poorly in the Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare Trophy matches?” he asked.

IPL ANGLE

Sources said ensuring selection of some of the UP players among the reserves in the Indian Premier League (IPL) teams was also a bone of contention for the team. To get selected even among reserves (one gets Rs 10 lakh for the season), one should be a domestic player and should have played at least one board trophy matches.

There are many players, including the son of a senior IPS officer, who wish to make the cut in this year’s IPL auction. “We get instructions from a man in Saharanpur for certain players. We face humiliation if we do not act accordingly,” said a team member. “Nobody cares about talent or merit in selection of team or playing XI. It is really hampering the team’s performance in domestic matches. There will be many lows in state cricket, if the control of the team from outside is not stopped,” he said.

ALL IS WELL

UPCA secretary Yudhveer Singh claimed that there was nothing wrong in the team and all was well. “Both Mritunjay and Zaidi were attached with Ranji Trophy team on trial basis but they couldn’t perform. UPCA always thinks for the betterment of cricket and it is not at all a humiliation to anybody,” Singh said.

He justified the appointment of both Sujith and Mansur, terming their cricketing credentials quite good. “I have studied the credentials of both the candidates and they are really impressive. Let’s hope they do well,” he added. Sujith and Mansur will get just four days’ time to interact with Suresh Raina and Co as team’s camp starts here on January 2 and they will be playing their first match of the Syed Mushatq Ali Twenty20 Trophy on January 7 at Raipur against Rajasthan. It will be interesting to see what magic these two infuse in the players to make them a winning side in such a short span.

HE JUSTIFIED THE APPOINTMENT OF BOTH SUJITH AND MANSUR, TERMING THEIR CRICKETING CREDENTIALS QUITE GOOD