Surat Cricket AGM Erupts Over Selection, Finance, Safety Claims

SURAT: Allegations of improper player-selection practices, financial irregularities and concerns over women’s safety triggered a storm at the Surat District Cricket Association’s (SDCA) Annual General Meeting, exposing deep differences within the city’s cricket fraternity.

The AGM, attended by more than 200 members, saw member Pratik Shah raise a series of allegations, including a claim that a coach had sent an inappropriate message to a female player linking selection to late-night chats. Shah also alleged irregularities in financial transactions, tournament administration, player eligibility and selection procedures.

“If you want to get selected, you will have to chat at night,” Shah alleged the coach had messaged the female player. He claimed the matter had been brought to the association’s secretary and alleged that the coach was being protected.

Shah said he had evidence and phone recordings concerning alleged irregularities and would submit them to the police for investigation.

He also questioned the absence of a formal tendering process in certain operations and raised concerns over the handling of ISPL-related transactions. According to him, transactions were conducted through the secretary’s personal email without invoices and an amount of ₹2.5 crore was accepted against an alleged demand of ₹5 crore.

Questions were also raised over a potential conflict of interest involving office-bearers, coaches and selectors who allegedly operate private cricket academies.

Another contentious issue was player eligibility. Shah alleged that cases involving different dates of birth and bogus certificates were affecting local talent. He claimed that 50,000-60,000 youngsters train across 150-200 academies in Surat, while 1,000-1,500 local players face difficulties each year because of alleged inclusion of overage or non-domicile players.

He demanded mandatory online scoring of trial matches to improve transparency.

SDCA Secretary Dr Naimesh Desai, however, rejected the allegations as baseless. On the women’s safety issue, he said no complaint had previously been received from any player or parent.

“We follow a zero-tolerance policy. If concrete evidence is found, strict legal action will be taken,” Desai said.

He also denied financial wrongdoing, stating that the ₹2.5 crore plus GST ISPL amount had been deposited into the association’s bank account and the accounts were approved at the AGM.

Desai further rejected conflict-of-interest allegations and said the disputed player’s documents had been submitted to the Gujarat Cricket Association and cleared after a bone test.