Hyderabad: Former India cricketer Noel David has been named chairman of the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s Junior Selection Committee at the Annual General Body meeting held on Sunday.
Former Hyderabad cricketers Vivek Jaisimha, Abdul Azeem, Rajesh Yadav and Shivaji Yadav are the other members of the five-member panel. However, Shivaji’s name was flagged by a few members since he is a government servant — being an employee of Income Tax department.
The House decided that Shivaji will have to be cleared by the Ombdusman, for which post the name of former Supreme Court judge M. N. Rao has been proposed.
Noel vowed to work hard for the development of the game. “I am looking forward to improving junior cricket and contributing to the growth of youngsters in Hyderabad, just like Rahul Dravid (Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy) is doing at the national level,” the 48-year-old told this newspaper.
“It is very important to groom players at the Under 16 and Under 19 level and I will do my best to boost the game,” Noel, who played four One-Day Internationals and 35 first class matches in the 1990s, added.
The senior selection panel will be constituted by the Cricket Advisory Committee comprising former Test cricketers S. L. Venkatapathi Raju, M. V. Narsimha Rao and (former Indian women’s team captain) Purnima Rau.
There was more good news for the selectors, all of whom (men and women) will be paid `7 lakh per year.
Elections to the HCA will be held on September 1 and they have already begun to generate much heat going by the uproar and outrage that kickstarted the AGM with regard to vice-president Anil Kumar chairing the meet. After quite a commotion, former HCA presidents N. Shivlal Yadav and G. Vinod shared the dais as a compromise formula alongside secretary T. Sheshnarayan, Anil Kumar, joint secretary Ajmal Asad and Councillor Hanumanth Reddy.
Ruckus returned when it came point No.6 on the agenda — appointment of HCA’s representative for future BCCI meetings. While one group wanted G. Vivekanand to be nominated, others contended that decision should be made only after the new body is in place, post elections. Amid the furore, Sheshnarayan declared the matter deferred. Vivek’s camp claims his nomination has been approved though.
However, it was all smooth when it came to money matters concerning members. All accounts were passed in a jiffy; insurance claims of club secretaries that were pending were cleared - each secretary gets `3 lakh insurance cover for his family; and old dues of development fund of `3 lakh to each club were okayed in an instant.
The House also decided that staff who are superannuated (above 60 years) will be retired immediately.
Some members also pointed out missing clauses in the HCA constitution, which, according to the Supreme Court order, should be the mirror image of the BCCI’s. One such was in the case of institutional clubs, only first class cricketers are permitted to attend the General Body or vote in elections.
