Air of discontent in Delhi camp ahead of Syed Mushtaq Ali match

NEW DELHI: The mood in the Delhi team ahead of their first Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 match - against Punjab on Tuesday at the Kotla - appeared to be low-key, unlike the atmosphere one witnessed in the bunch which played the Ranji final about a week back.
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A lot has happened in the past week. Suddenly, the selectors' faith in 20-year-old Rishabh Pant has evaporated and captaincy has been handed over to Pradeep Sangwan, who is returning from an injury and who has no experience of leading at the first-class level.
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Gautam Gambhir's commitment to the team has been questioned by powers to be within DDCA despite him being the team's leading run-scorer in the Ranji season. Three senior players - Unmukt Chand, Milind Kumar and Manan Sharma - who have been consistent performers in white-ball cricket in recent times have been sidelined, ostensibly because they are 'unfit' and lack form in red-ball cricket.
All this, sources say, has happened to accommodate players like Sarthak Ranjan, who was not picked to play a single U-23 match this season, Gaurav Kumar, who couldn't pass a fitness test on Monday, and Kshitij Sharma on the basis "good performances in local tournaments".
This had brought back the air of uncertainty which has swept the corridors of Delhi and District Cricket Association for years. The atmosphere was visibly tense during the training session on Monday. The players were guarded in their banter.
Ranjan, son of Bihar politician Pappu Yadav, withdrew his name after being in the Ranji probables list at the start of the season. His mother, reportedly, sent an e-mail mid-season to High Court-appointed DDCA administrator, Vikramjit Sen, saying the boy was suffering from depression and had recovered by then. There are some who are now alleging that Ranjan pulled out to try his hand at bodybuilding competitions.
Delhi will have several young faces in the domestic T20 tournament, which is seen as a talent hunt by IPL teams. Like it or not, Gambhir, along with Pant, remains the key to Delhi's performance in this tournament in the absence of Chand and Milind. "Players say Gambhir has been in a jovial mood this season. It's a pity that players seen as close to him have been targeted," said a source close to the players. Interestingly, the team manager declined to give any adverse report on Gambhir.
On top of it, some players are unhappy that the Delhi team management has requested BCCI to have all its league matches in the morning despite Delhi being the host association. "The team was asked what time they would prefer to play while allotting the matches. In winter, the ball does a lot early in the morning. To our surprise, coach KP Bhaskar asked for morning matches," a top DDCA official told TOI.
The call has not gone down well with the team. "The tournament is a trial for these players. The team management should have thought about giving the boys the best possible chance to perform. It was done to avoid morning traffic," said a source close to the team.