Wasim Jaffer resignation row: Cricket Association of Uttarakhand begins probe on ‘bio-bubble breach’

Dehradun

: The controversy surrounding Wasim Jaffer’s resignation from the post of the head coach of the senior men’s Uttarakhand cricket team refuses to melt down.

In an apparent reference to the controversy, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took to social media on Saturday saying, “In the last few years, hate has been normalised so much that our beloved sport cricket has been marred by it.”

To recall, Jaffer’ resignation was embroiled in controversy after it was alleged by a few that he was “favouring Muslim players in the team”. It was also claimed that a “maulvi” (Muslim priest) was called by Jaffer in the dressing room for prayers. However, the prolific Mumbai batsman dismissed all allegations and said he resigned as he was not given “freedom” to build the team his own way.

Later, Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU) secretary Mahim Verma also said that there are “no religious overtones in the matter of the resignation and the move came purely due to cricketing differences over choice of players”. “My statement has been misinterpreted and the allegations of communal bias against Wasim Jaffer are baseless. We have many Muslim players and staffers in the CAU. Also, in 2019, we awarded a cricket scholarship to two young talents, one of them is a Muslim,” added Verma. He was quick to add that he never interfered in the matters of selection and gave Jaffer enough freedom.

The matter has now been taken up by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the governing body for cricket in India. BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla also visited Dehradun to meet the CAU officials over the matter. The state association has also begun a probe regarding the alleged breach of bio-bubble by Jaffer by bringing an outsider to the dressing room.

Meanwhile, Iqbal Abdullah, who was Uttarakhand’s team captain in the recently-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, has clarified that he had invited the Muslim priest in the dressing room only after taking due permission from the team manager Navneet Mishra.