Damage control, Kotla style

A day after the fifth and final ODI between India and Sri Lanka was called off, the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association were in overdrive trying to do damage control, reports Heena Zuni Pandit.

Updated on: Dec 28, 2009, 23:26:12 IST

Hindustan Times | By Anonymous, New Delhi

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A day after the fifth and final ODI between India and Sri Lanka was called off, the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) were in overdrive trying to do damage control.

Back to basics
Radheyshyam, the former curator was back at the DDCA complex and was seen working on the pitch with Vijay Bahadur Mishra, the man who replaced Radheyshyam in September 2008.
There is a possibility that Radheshyam, who had quit a year back refusing to working under Daljit Singh, might be reappointed.
“There is no point talking about what happened yesterday, the task ahead is how to rectify the mistake,” said Radheshyam.

Meeting
Ahead of Tuesday’s AGM, DDCA president Arun Jaitely called a meeting of all the directors and officials to discuss the matter further. Chetan Chauhan, vice-president DDCA, sounded optimistic.
“There is no danger of Kotla getting banned. Delhi will continue to host cricket as always.”
Chauhan also refused to speculate on the possibility that the BCCI might now rule out the Kotla as a venue for February’s South Africa Test. “I have no such information from the BCCI but if it is so then it’s a very pre-mature decision,” he said.

Blame game
Before going for the meeting called by Arun Jaitley, DDCA general secretary, SP Bansal tried to put all the blame on Daljit Singh.
“We gave 100 percent responsibility of preparing the pitch to him, so it is not our fault. But we are not running away from responsibility.
“Our only fault is that we had blind faith in him,” he said.
After the meeting Chauhan said: “We have 14 days to answer the BCCI and also we will try to make a new pitch within two-three months. “For that we will take help from experts.”

Refunding money
The DDCA also announced that ticket-holders for the abandoned game could collect their refund from branches of Union Bank at Nehru Place, Moti Bagh, Asaf Ali Road, Connaught Place, Karol Bagh, Lajpat Nagar, Anand Niketan, Kamla Nagar, Punjabi Bagh and Okhla.
The last date for claiming refunds is January 5, 2010.

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