Barring a couple of tournaments, Delhi men’s cricket teams flopped again and have failed to win a single title this domestic season so far, as all the attention was on the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) elections that occupied everyone’s minds.
Senior DDCA members blamed certain members of the coaching/support staff for being too involved in the elections and non-cricketing individuals influencing the selection of players, particularly in junior teams.
Delhi failed to win a title in six out of eight tournaments that have ended. However, despite the distractions, they still have a chance to redeem themselves somewhat in two tournaments where they have a slight chance to qualify for the quarterfinals. One is the Ranji Trophy, and the other is the men’s under-23 CK Nayudu Trophy (Elite). In all other senior and junior men’s tournaments, Delhi cut a sorry figure, though in a couple of competitions, they progressed beyond the group league stage.
In this election season at the DDCA, its management, headed by Rohan Jaitley, started by scoring a “century” of a different kind, with an eye on the hustings. In the 2023-24 domestic season, the coaching/support staff comprised 94 people, and this season, the number went up to 109 – with some experts terming it an election move. This inflated list included three mentors appointed for the first time — Atul Wassan (men’s white ball tournaments), Robin Singh Jr (red ball), and Reema Malhotra (women). Despite this long list, Delhi teams failed to perform.
However, Wassan, a former India fast bowler, was brave enough to admit that Delhi teams lacked “intensity” and also hinted at finding his hands tied.
“It was a kind of assignment where there was not much intensity that I sought to inculcate. However, we did quite well in the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). I am now preparing a blueprint for some immediate action and boosters which actually can be implemented and worked on in the upcoming off-season,” he told Patriot.
Wassan referred to Delhi reaching the semi-finals of the SMAT before losing to Madhya Pradesh by seven wickets as their batting again came unstuck. Madhya Pradesh first restricted Delhi to 146 for five wickets in 20 overs, with wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat being the top scorer with 33 not out, while opener Priyansh Arya scored 29. Rajat Patidar’s Madhya Pradesh reached the target with 26 balls to spare, but they lost to Mumbai in the final.
Arya was Delhi’s top gun in the tournament, scoring 325 runs at 40.63 in nine matches, with one century and one 50-plus knock, while Yash Dhull made 238 in nine games. Pacer Prince Yadav, 23, was the top bowler with 11 wickets in eight matches.
Hopes fade amid tough qualification battle
The last time Delhi won the Ranji Trophy was 16 years ago, in 2007-08, and 10 years later, they reached the final in 2017-18. For the last five years, Delhi hasn’t qualified for the knock-out round. This season, their fortunes are hanging by a thread. Presently, they are placed fourth on the run quotient after five matches with 14 points in Group D, the same as Railways.
Delhi has an inferior quotient of 0.844, while Railways have 0.898. The run quotient determines the positions of teams at the end of the round-robin group league matches if the points of two or more teams are equal. Tamil Nadu and newcomers Chandigarh are currently jointly atop the table with 19 points.
Delhi has two group matches left, but the disadvantage for them is that both are away from home, against Saurashtra in Rajkot and Assam in Guwahati. Since only the top two teams from all four groups qualify for quarterfinals, Delhi’s first task will be to win both their last league matches, possibly with a bonus point in both, and then hope that the results of other matches in their group go in their favour.
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“I would say Delhi are still competing, and we are very much in the competition. If we win this first game [against Saurashtra], I am sure we will be in a very good position to qualify after so many years,” Delhi’s premier batsman Himmat Singh told Patriot.
Himmat was rather unfairly removed from captaincy midway through the tournament, with Ayush Badoni replacing him. The selectors’ decision probably affected his batting, as he managed only 182 runs in five Ranji matches. “My season didn’t go up to my expectations. However, I was really focused on doing well in the T20s this season, which I did. My aim was to do well in SMAT and help my team win matches – and get an IPL contract – and I did that. I can’t say it was not good because certainly, there were some positives,” he said. Lucknow Super Giants bought him for his base price of Rs 30 lakh.
On whether the captaincy issue impacted his batting, he said: “It was a decision taken by the selectors, and I respect that.”
In the multi-day under-23 CK Nayudu Trophy (Elite), Delhi seems to have a better chance to qualify for quarterfinals than in the Ranji Trophy. With two group league matches still to be played, Delhi stands second with 56 points, four behind leaders Uttar Pradesh, in Group B. Delhi (1.268) is behind Uttar Pradesh (1.477) on the run quotient, too.
The top two teams from all four groups will qualify for the quarterfinals. Delhi’s last two matches are against Chhattisgarh from January 25 in Bhilai and against Saurashtra from February 1 in Rajkot.
Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy: Kudos to kids
In the boys’ under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy, in sharp focus for its controversial inflated squad, credit goes to the cricketers for putting up a good show despite the selection issues. The Abhiraj Gagan Singh-led team missed qualifying for the knock-out round by a whisker. Only two teams from each of the five groups qualified, and Delhi finished third, tied with Chandigarh on points (14) in Elite Group C, behind toppers Punjab (21 points). The dreaded run quotient then came into play, and Delhi was relegated to third place by a heart-breaking 0.119 on the quotient.
Captain-cum-wicketkeeper Singh led the individual scorers’ chart with 398 runs in five matches with three centuries and one 50, while Garv Kumar made 388 runs, comprising one century and three 50-plus knocks. In bowling, Vedant, the younger son of Virender Sehwag, was the top wicket-taker for Delhi with 24 scalps, including two five-wicket hauls, in five matches.
Delhi teams struggle across tournaments
In the limited-overs tournament for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the Badoni-captained Delhi crashed out before the knock-out round. Delhi was placed in Group E, comprising seven teams, and it finished fourth with 12 points, let down largely by their batting line-up.
Delhi failed to qualify for the pre-quarterfinal stage of the men’s 50-over under-23 State A Tournament, too, after it finished third with 20 points in the eight-team Group B, behind Haryana (28 points) and Andhra (24). Delhi won five out of seven matches, but the defeats to Andhra and Haryana proved decisive.
In the men’s under-19 Vinoo Mankad Trophy, the same story was repeated as Delhi finished fifth in the six-team Group D. However, batting all-rounder Pranav Pant came good with the bat and scored 321 in five matches with one hundred and three fifties.
In the men’s under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy elite category, Delhi lost to Tamil Nadu in a pre-quarterfinal match after their batting flopped in both innings. Aaryavir, the elder son of Sehwag, cornered individual glory by scoring 496 runs in four matches at 70.86, with a top score of 297 and two half-centuries, while Arnav S Bugga also did well, making 373 runs in six games, with a hundred and two half-tons. Pacer Udhav Mohan excelled with the ball, bagging 28 wickets in just six matches
