Acting against the increasing corruption in state cricket, Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) forced Joint Secretary Prem Dhar Pathak to resign from his post after a sting operation allegedly caught him taking money from a junior cricketer.
Published: Jul 28, 2011, 04:29 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 28, 2011, 04:29 PM (IST)
UPCA director Jyoti Bajpai (R) says no junior cricketer comes forward to reveal the reason behind his non-inclusion into the team © AFP
Kanpur: Jul 28, 2011
Acting against the increasing corruption in state cricket, Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) forced Joint Secretary Prem Dhar Pathak to resign from his post after a sting operation allegedly caught him taking money from a junior cricketer.
“Pathak was caught taking money from a junior cricketer for selection into the state team. Following which pressure was building on him to resign from his post,” sources in the UPCA revealed.
The UPCA admitted that Pathak was facing corruption charges but insisted the 80-year-old administrator offered to step down, citing health reasons.
“It is true that there were some allegations of corruption levelled against Pathak but he informed UPCA that he wants to step down from his post,” UPCA director Jyoti Bajpai told PTI Bhasha.
“Pathak told the Association that he was nearing 80 and his health does not permit him to work anymore,” he added.
Bajpai also said that UPCA has accepted Pathak’s request and there are chances a decision would be reached to relieve the administrator during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held in September.
“Most of the officials in the selection board are running private cricket coaching centres and only those players who are enrolled in such centres and are paying heavy fees get selected into the team,” sources disclosed.
Interestingly, the junior team from the state has failed to yield good results at the national level in the last five years.
“We often get such complaints but no junior cricketer comes forward to reveal the reason behind his non-inclusion into the team,” Bajpai said.
However, the director insisted that any discrepancy in the selection procedure will be looked into and promised to take stern action against the guilty.
© PTI
