Former Maharashtra Ranji Trophy captain Milind Gunjal is livid over the fact that the BCCI did not respond to his request for a confirmation of his application for a national selector's post
Milind Gunjal
Milind Gunjal
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Fomrer Maharashtra Ranji Trophy captain Milind Gunjal is livid over the fact that the Indian cricket board did not respond to his request for a confirmation of his application for a national selector's post.
"I just wanted to know the status of my application which I had sent for the post of a selector. I also sent them a reminder for the acknowledgement, but I got no reply. This has hurt me a lot," Gunjal (57) told mid-day.
Yet, Gunjal, who played for an India youth team under Ravi Shastri in Zimbabwe in 1984, said: "I was not surprised when I came to know how former cricketers were treated during the selection process by the BCCI officials because I had already experienced it in Maharashtra Cricket Association.
"In 2004, as president of the MCA, Ajay Shirke (BCCI's secretary) offered me the post of Maharashtra Ranji Trophy team's coach when they had already finalised a coach from New Zealand. Shirke asked me to confirm whether I would take it up within an hour. I asked him about the terms and conditions, but he refused to say anything. How can I take up a new responsibility without knowing details of it? I could sense that his call was a mere formality. They did the same thing when it came to the candidates who applied for selectors' posts."
Gunjal had a role in getting Shirke into cricket administration. "In 2000, I had decided to contest the MCA elections. One senior cricketer from Mumbai told me to rope in Shirke in my panel, which consisted of Riyaz Bagwan. This is how Shirke made an entry into cricket administration."
Gunjal added, "When I played my last first-class match — against Punjab in the 1992-93 Ranji Trophy final I received a remuneration of R600 only. And when I started playing cricket, I got Rs 25 for my first Ranji match in 1979. I have given 35 years of my life to this game. I played 88 first-class matches, performed well in one unofficial Test match against Zimbabwe.
"The reason why I decided to enter cricket administration was because the MCA wanted to see me replaced as Talent Resource Development Officer of the National Cricket Academy of the BCCI in 2002. Also, players were not treated well by the administrators. I remember, when I was coach of the Maharashtra under-19 team, I requested the association then secretary Ashok Vashi to erect a sightscreen at Deccan Gymkhana. My request was turned down. All I was asking was something that would benefit cricketers.
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