Bhubaneswar: Things aren’t going well for the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) at the moment. After being charge-sheeted along with former secretary Ashirbad Behera by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) last week in the ponzi scheme case, it was learnt that the players are at the receiving end as far as the game is concerned, according to sources in the state association.
“OCA is going through a very tough time right now. Though the electoral officer ML Majumdar has already arrived, the elections have still not been conducted. Adding to that there is a financial crunch too,” a source within the OCA said on condition of anonymity.
The elections for six posts will be conducted by October 20, OCA working committee chairman Dhiren Pallai told the media last week.
With Duleep trophy approaching its business end, the domestic season for the state teams will actually start September 24 with the Vijay Hazare Trophy. While most of the state associations have already started training with their final squads for the season, the story is just the opposite for OCA.
“The final squad should have been out by now. Others have already started their preparations but nothing has been finalised here. This is the main area where the players will lag behind. There are around 200 players practising in the camp and it’s just barely 20 days left,” the source told Orissa POST.
However, the story isn’t finished yet. According to reports, the players were given low-quality SG balls to practise on while the matches will be played in Kookaburra balls.
“One Kookaburra match ball costs around Rs 9,000 to Rs 10,000. The low-quality one comes at around Rs 5,000. It’s impossible for the players to take initiatives to buy Kookaburra balls and train,” lamented the source. Even the players are not being provided with water during the breaks, particularly after the CBI charge sheet has been slapped.
Asked about the matter to Pallai, he said: “The BCCI provides the Kookaburra ball to every state association every year – two dozens to be precise. This year those are yet to come from the board. Once they come, the players will get to use those.”
“There are payments pending for the last four years. If BCCI doesn’t clear our dues, how can we take the risk of providing Kookaburra ball by ourselves and increase our debt? Even the supplier remains non-committal in providing them fearing the delay in payment,” he added.
Last month, Karnataka senior pros Stuart Binny and CM Gautam made a switch to play for Nagaland and Goa, respectively for this season. Along with Binny, Nagaland have also roped in wicket-keeper Yogesh Takawale and medium-pacer Shrikanth Munde from Maharashtra.
Odisha finished fourth in group stages in Ranji trophy last season — a drastic improvement from the previous seasons.
Asked whether OCA is looking to bring outstation players to strengthen their side this season, pat came the reply from Pallai.
“No, we believe in our players and want to groom them instead,” he said.
However, when this paper contacted few players regarding the turmoil, they simply refused to comment.
