The Ranji Trophy, India’s premier domestic cricket tournament, has been embroiled in a fresh controversy involving star Indian cricketer Deepak Hooda. Hooda, who captains the Rajasthan team, has reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with certain selection decisions, leading to a tense situation within the team.
According to a report in Sportstar, Hooda skipped a practice session on the eve of Rajasthan’s match against Hyderabad in Jaipur. Sources close to the team revealed that there have been ongoing disagreements between Hooda, the ad hoc selection panel, and the coaching staff over player selection.
“This has been an issue since the start of the season,” a source said. “There have been multiple disagreements over player selection between the ad hoc panel and the captain and coach. However, yesterday, things got a bit out of control as the captain, although he came for the practice session, continued to sit out. He was constantly on his phone, busy on calls with the ad hoc committee members and the Sports Minister (Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore).”
The report also claimed that an ad hoc committee member threatened to resign over the selection dispute. The ad hoc panel is headed by Jaideep Bihan, with Ratan Singh as the convener and Pawan Goyal, Dharmveer Singh Shekhawat, and Harish Singh as members.
Dharmveer Singh Shekhawat, a member of the ad hoc panel, defended the committee’s decisions. “These things happen when there are a number of people trying to make a decision,” he said. “The more the heads, more the opinions. It isn’t wrong and it is not a controversy. The captain wanted wicketkeeper-batter Kunal Singh Rathore to continue despite the fact that he hasn’t performed for a while now. He has hit only one fifty in his last three games.”
The controversy has cast a shadow over Rajasthan’s Ranji Trophy campaign. The team has won two of its first three matches but has now been rocked by internal strife. It remains to be seen how the situation will be resolved and whether it will impact Rajasthan’s performance in the tournament.
