Mumbai : A few national selectors have decided to stay away from IPL games after the Central Zone representative and former Test player, Narendra Hirwani, was reportedly asked to leave the VIP enclosure at Brabourne Stadium by commissioner Lalit Modi.
The incident occurred on March 25, a day before the selectors were to pick the squad for the T20 World Championship, when the Mumbai Indians were playing their home game against Chennai Super Kings.
Insulted by the incident, Hirwani informed chairman Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who in turn took up the issue with BCCI secretary N Srinivasan. Hirwani, along with Surendra Bhave (West Zone) and Raja Venkat (East), have boycotted the event since then. But Srikkanth, who happens to be the brand ambassador of Chennai Super Kings has been seen at matches. The North Zone selector, Yashpal Sharma, happens to be a match referee for IPL.
Modi tried to downplay the incident. “It was a misunderstanding concerning accreditation. Hirwani didn't have the ticket for the seat he was occupying,” he said.
With the BCCI assuring that it would order a probe into the incident, the selectors aren't willing to come on record.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a selector said: “We were not there to see the cheerleaders. We had a World Cup team to pick the next day. The selectors have the best seats in town, but in the IPL other people are important. I am staying away from the game since Mr Modi insulted one of us.”
But the BCCI chief administrative officer, Ratnakar Shetty, claimed that the selectors are staying away because they want some rest. “The T20 team has already been announced, so they have decided to cover only the semis and final,” he said.
Earlier, the Mumbai Cricket Association had boycotted the Mumbai Indians' matches because of their dispute with the franchise over seat allocation.
Reacting to the incident, MCA joint secretary Lalchand Rajput said: “It's so sad to see that a national selector has been treated in such a way. He was there to do his job, and it is a shame that he was thrown out.”
