Chetan Chauhan replies to Gautam Gambhir’s Jibes on Navdeep Saini

Former India cricketer Chetan Chauhan has replied to Gautam Gambhir’s claims that DDCA officials had been stopping pacer Navdeep Saini from playing for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy. Gambhir had taken jibes at Chauhan and legendary spinner Bishan Singh Bedi.  Cricketer-turned-politician Gambhir had alleged that pacer Saini was treated as an outsider in the Delhi cricket circuit.

After Saini produced impressive debut against West Indies in the 1st T20I, Gambhir criticised the former DDCA officials in a scathing Twitter post. The Karnal-born pacer claimed three wickets, including a maiden over, on his international debut. Saini went on to win the man of the match for his heroics.

Chauhan, who is now the sports minister of Uttar Pradesh, defended himself by expressing no doubts with regards to Saini’s ability. However, he added that he was only following a rule set by DDCA.

“Cricketers from Delhi were moving out to different states while some of the talented players were told to join the Delhi camp. This system wasn’t working, and the DDCA executive committee felt that there should be a one-year cooling period like they have in Mumbai.” Chauhan claimed.

Chauhan went on as far as to say that the then-skipper Gambhir had threatened the management to quit in case the demand wasn’t fulfilled. “Then one fine day, Gambhir suggested Saini’s name and I was against it because it was against the regulations. Gambhir even threatened to quit playing for Delhi. I got a call from then DDCA president Arun Jaitley, who wasn’t in favour of making it a public spectacle.” he revealed.

Besides Chauhan, Bedi too has responded against Gambhir’s claims. The former cricketer said that credit should lie solely with Saini for his efforts. However, he also denied all the allegations before adding that added that he didn’t believe in “stooping to conquer.”

In reply, Gautam had alleged nepotism, claiming that both the cricketers wanted their relatives inducted in the Delhi team.

A Demerit Point for Navdeep

Navdeep Saini was on Monday handed a demerit point after he allegedly made “aggressive gestures” at Nicholas Pooran after taking the West Indies batsman’s wicket in the first T20 international.