The Delhi team’s Ranji Trophy 2024 campaign is going to be a forgettable one, thus things are not going well there. They have only managed one point from their three games, which came from their draw with Jammu & Kashmir. They were defeated by Madhya Pradesh and Puducherry on both sides of this outcome.
In Elite Group D, Delhi is mired at the bottom of the points standings. On Friday, January 26, they faced Uttarakhand in Mohali for their fourth Ranji Trophy match. Oddly, the seven-time champions chose not to include the gifted Ayush Badoni in the playing XI or even in the first fifteen.
Badoni has been struggling lately; in the five innings he has played in India’s top domestic red-ball league this year, he has scored 2, 4, 12, 41, and 6. Strong Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) administrators urged the young player to remain back at the team hotel on Friday. Delhi’s fate remained unchanged when Badoni was left from the squad; they were bowled out for 147 in the opening session.
The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) cricket player was dropped from the team, according to a senior DDCA official, in order to deny him the BCCI match fees. Additionally, the official has claimed that pressure was used to play Kshitiz Sharma, who is reportedly close to a previous office holder of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
“Yes, there was pressure to play Kshitiz, especially to prevent Badoni from playing in the final 15 to avoid even receiving the match fees that the BCCI is supposed to pay. The BCCI match fees are only available to 15 players. It was decided that it would be best to lodge him in a hotel as he is not permitted in the PMOA (Players and Match Officials Area), a top DDCA official was cited as saying by Hindustan Times under condition of anonymity.
Team managers would not have been reimbursed by BCCI, and they would have to plan his meals independently: Director of DDCA
It was also peculiar that Badoni was not even brought down to the VIP gallery to see the Ranji Trophy game. Furthermore, a DDCA representative stated that Badoni’s inability to get the team to the ground due to food and net obligations was the main reason for the refusal.
“He couldn’t have visited the nets during breaks or games because Punjab CA was in the middle of their camp, therefore the team managers would have had to make separate arrangements for his meals as BCCI wouldn’t have paid for them. Therefore, the official—who is close to a DDCA director—explained that it was preferable to keep him in the hotel.
Some people believe that Ayush Badoni has been distracted after participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a few seasons. According to a senior official, had Badoni reached a century, players such as Kshitiz would not have been able to break into the Ranji team and his detractors would have been silenced; sadly, they now have the opportunity to take aim at Badoni.
“Those who fervently want to see Ayush removed from Delhi cricket wouldn’t have had the opportunity to speak up and demand that players like Kshitiz, who don’t deserve to be in the dressing room, be allowed to play.” For not scoring runs, even he should bear some of the guilt “explained the defenseless top official.
It’s known that DDCA President Rohan Jaitley may take extreme measures in the event that Delhi’s current match versus Uttarakhand ends in a loss. Remarkably, right-arm pacer Abhay Negi bowled Kshitiz, who is regarded as a respectable club-level cricket player, for eight runs in the opening innings.
“Rohan has the right intentions, but it’s time for him to make some difficult decisions. The president would have to step in if Kshitiz failed to score runs in the second inning, the person continued.
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