Bishen Bedi pushed selection of his undeserving son: Gambhir
What's the story
The controversy surrounding former Indian cricketers Gautam Gambhir and Bishen Singh Bedi took an ugly turn. Gambhir has accused Bedi of pushing the selection of his undeserving son in the state team. The spat started when Gambhir lashed out at Bedi and Chetan Chauhan after Navdeep Saini's impressive debut for India in the first T20I against West Indies. Here are the details.
Spat
How did the spat start?
Navdeep made an impressive debut for India and picked up three wickets in the first T20I. According to a report in IANS, Gambhir hit out at Bedi and Chauhan, who were former Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) members. As per Gambhir, they had objected to his call to bring in Saini in the Delhi Ranji team. Gambhir continued to support the fast bowler.
Twitter Post
Gambhir taunts Bedi and Chauhan
Kudos Navdeep Saini on ur India debut. U already have 2 wkts even before u have bowled— @BishanBedi @ChetanChauhanCr. Their middle stumps are gone seeing debut of a player whose cricketing obituary they wrote even before he stepped on the field, shame!!! @BCCI pic.twitter.com/skD77GYjk9
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) August 3, 2019
Comments
Bedi hits back at Gambhir
Bedi hit back at Gambhir's claims and went on to deny that he had ever publicly questioned the merit of Saini's selection in the Delhi team. "Who am I? I wasn't in any position of DDCA. I see that he (Gambhir) hasn't sobered even after becoming a Member of Parliament," Bedi said. Meanwhile, Chauhan too opened up on the issue.
Chauhan
Chauhan decided against breaking DDCA rules
Speaking to The Times of India, Chauhan shot back saying that he was following the rules and regulations of the DDCA. The rule was that no outside cricketer could represent Delhi without a one-year cooling period. Chauhan also claimed that he was against Gambhir's idea of including Saini as it was against the regulations. He added that Gambhir even threatened to quit Delhi team.
Twitter Post
Gambhir takes a dig at Bedi and Chauhan
😂 @BishanBedi talking about “stooping to conquer” 😂,man who was pushing his undeserving son for selection or @ChetanChauhanCr bent on getting his nephew in DDCA team. Shame. Also reproducing Bedi’s comments on Navdeep in a protest letter of 2013. Read onhttps://t.co/hhwMDViipZ
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) August 4, 2019
Protest letter
What did Bedi's protest letter contain?
According to a report in Cricket Country, Bedi had shot off a letter to then DDCA President Arun Jaitley protesting about the inclusion of Saini. The letter was signed by Bedi in 2013 on the NCT (National Capital Territory) Cricket Association letterhead. The letter stated that Saini didn't represent Delhi and it was inappropriate to bring in an outsider. He also cited past examples.