DDCA announces 8 panels; Cricket Advisory Committee next week

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali

New Delhi, Nov 28 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) on Saturday announced seven more committees, in addition to the finance committee, though the most important panel from the point of view of the upcoming domestic cricket season, the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), has not been named so far.

The league and tournament committee, too, has not been announced.

A seven-member finance committee was announced on Monday, and the total number of committees are now eight. It is the most important committee, considering the DDCA's history of financial irregularities, and is headed by Shashi Khanna, wife of former acting BCCI president and ex-vice-president of DDCA, CK Khanna.

Since the CAC has not been constituted, the selection committees too have not been formed as it is the mandate of the CAC to choose the selectors.

New president Rohan Jaitley said the CAC would be announced next week, though the league and tournament committee, whose members get paid, unlike the CAC members, would be constituted after watching Covid-related developments, i.e. decision on resuming full-fledged sporting activities.

"There has been no clarity from the Board of Control for Cricket in India regarding the 2020-21 domestic season so far. I have been waiting for some notification from the BCCI before constituting the CAC. But I will, anyway, announce the CAC next week," Jatiley told IANS on Saturday.

Names of several well-known international players are doing the rounds for the CAC, which is likely to have three members. Among the names being talked about are Ashish Nehra, Maninder Singh, Atul Wassan, Nikhil Chopra, Sarandeep Singh, and Robin Singh (junior).

On the delay in announcing the league and tournament committee, Jaitley hinted that its formation would depend on the government instructions regarding resumption of sporting activities, following a surge in Covid-related positive cases in Delhi lately.

And since members of the league committee are paid, that could also be a reason for the delay in constituting this panel. The thinking is that if the committee is constituted immediately and if the government bars sporting activities, the DDCA would end up paying league committee members for no work.

New CEO and CFO are also to be appointed, as these positions are lying vacant.

One criticism against the previous appointees was the unusually high salaries they were drawing during the Rajat Sharma regime. It remains to be seen if the new appointees would also be hired in a similar salary bracket, or some austerity measures would be taken by Jaitley.

Before he was unanimously elected president, Jaitley had said he would be transparent vis-?-vis all financial dealings of DDCA and would out the figures in public domain.

"The financial aspect of the DDCA needs to be cleansed. It should be done in a transparent manner; it should be very open. There should not be any grey areas. It should all be in the public domain and also on the DDCA website. There should be no questions being asked," Jaitley, 31, had told IANS last month. "Transparency will not only be in the financial committee; infrastructure development and club facilities are a must."

A three-member appointments and selection committee (not of cricket teams) was also announced on Saturday. Experienced chartered accountant Girish Ahuja is chairperson of this panel, which also comprises senior advocate Maninder Singh and professor Rajni Abbi. Interestingly, all three members have to be present for this committee to take decisions.

"General administration of the DDCA vest with the president, who is authorised to take all necessary decisions for the functioning of the DDCA, including but not limited to, matters concerning employees and staff," a DDCA statement said.

DDCA committees for 2020-21:

Finance Committee: Shashi Khanna (Chairperson), Rajni Abbi, Sunil Yadav, Harish Singla, Ashok Sharma, CEO (to be appointed, TBA), and CFO (TBA). The quorum for meetings shall be four members, mandatorily including the Chairman/Convenor. The CEO shall convene meetings with the concurrence of the chairman, and when he is not available, the CEO shall convene meetings with the president's permission.

Infrastructure and Improvements Committee: Rakesh Bansal (Chairperson), Sunil Yadav (Convenor), Rajni Abbi, Dinesh Kumar Sharma, Ashok Sharma, CEO, and CFO. The quorum for meetings shall be four members, which shall mandatorily include the chairman/convenor.

Appointments and Selection Committee: Girish Ahuja (Chairperson), Maninder Singh, and
Rajni Abbi. The quorum for meetings shall be all three members.

Club Facility Committee: Vinod Tihara (Chairperson), Dinesh Kumar Sharma, Harish Singla, Karnail Singh, CEO, and CFO. The quorum for meetings shall be four members. The CEO shall convene meetings with the concurrence of the chairman. When the chairman is not available, the convenor shall convene the meeting with the president's permission.

HR Policy Committee: Maninder Singh (Chairperson), Sanjay Bhardwaj, Karnail Singh, CEO, CFO, Legal Retainer, and Special Invitee. The quorum for meetings shall be three members which shall mandatorily include the chairman. The CEO shall convene meetings with the concurrence of the chairman. In the chairman's absence, CEO will convene meetings with the president's permission.

Legal Committee: Maninder Singh (Chairperson), and Rajni Abbi. The quorum for the committee meetings shall be two members.

Player Welfare Committee: Anjali Sharma (Chairperson), Rajni Abbi (Convenor), Tilak Raj Sharma, CEO, and CFO. The quorum for the Committee meetings shall be three members which shall mandatorily include the Chairman/Convenor. The Convenor shall convene meetings with the concurrence of the Chairman. In the Chairman's non-availability, the Convenor shall convene meetings with the president's permission.

Source: IANS