Tambe fiasco doesn't augur well

He won the best bowler award in the 2013 CLT20 while playing for the Rajasthan Royals. This season he has 81 scalps in local cricket.
Yet, there seem to be no takers for the services of Pravin Tambe when it comes to playing for Mumbai. The leggie is completely shattered after becoming the latest victim of politics in Mumbai cricket.
When the selectors met along with the team's coach and the captain a few days ago to pick the team that was to play Karnataka, Tambe replaced Iqbal Abdulla in the squad.
In a previous match, Mumbai's spinners were found wanting even on a rank turner and the selectors' decision to pick an experienced and proven performer on merit seemed justified. However, Tambe was dropped after being selected.
Says Tambe, "After I finished training at the DY Patil ground, I returned missed calls from coach Praveen Amre and Vani (MCA staffer) who asked me to reach the MCA to fill the BCCI form. When I reached the venue, he informed me to join practice the next day. Amre said that he had called me at 1:30 pm to inform me about my selection, but I had since been dropped. I was told, the selectors, coach and captain had signed the team selection sheet. How could a player be dropped after the selectors signed the team selection sheet? What hurt me more was that Vani, who had earlier asked me to join the team for practice, later told me that the next day's practice was cancelled, while the team's video analyst who also co-ordinates, informed me, on the team's WhatsApp group, to join practice. I feel terribly hurt because I have taken 81 wickets this season, of which 54 were in the Times Shield. Why do officials play games with players' careers? Surely, this is no way to treat a player?"
Former Mumbai captain and selector Shishir Hattangadi had famously resigned from the committee in 2009 when the team was changed after he had signed the team selection sheet.
Says Hattangadi, "It was decided by the committee that for the Buchi Babu tournament back then, the focus would be on youngsters. After the team was picked, all the selectors signed the team sheet. Later, one of the senior players was added to the team without my knowledge. I immediately resigned. One can't add or exclude a player once the team selection sheet is signed unless a player is injured or unavailable."
What is curious is the fact that Abdulla, who was picked again instead of Tambe, didn't feature in the Mumbai team that played against Karnataka on Friday.
While such inconsistent policies within the MCA may be farcical to observers, to the city of Mumbai and its players it is tragic to find the legacy of the association soiled. The point is who ordered the change in the team. The President of the MCA should investigate and action must be taken to avoid a repeat of such fiascos.