Great talent hunt begins in Delhi cricket!

Delhi looked so jam-packed on Monday. On the one hand, the roads nearby Ferozeshah Kotla were crowded with VVIPs visiting Rajghat to pay their respects to the Father of the Nation. And inside the stadium, a whole lot of players -- 30 probables -- were assembled to pay tribute to Delhi cricket!

"Once upon a time we used to be the terrors of the domestic circuit. We had maximum representation in the National side." The slogan-like murmurs could be heard from all around the ground.

However, no wise man was there to answer the big question… Where is Delhi now? Who is responsible for present mess?

It's difficult to understand the wisdom of Delhi cricket officials. There is certainly some serious problem with either their planning or with the talent available. Otherwise, how is it possible using any kind of logic, after conducting a mass camp for 60-odd boys prior to the Ranji season, they again felt a need to test 30 boys again to select a team for the one-dayers?

Many well wishers have repeatedly asked a question. If there is actually so much talent available in Delhi, then why do our wise selectors go back to the same set of players, barring one or two, after every selection meeting?

Many a time, this has been asked of the selectors. But we get only those same murmurs in reply. "The system here is so rotten. There has been a practice of  'please all' going on here for so long. It's difficult for us to change it overnight," is the standard answer.

So, Monday was another fun day. All the players were eagerly awaiting the selectors and team management who were to announce two squads of 15 players each. The anxiety was well understandable, as the careers of many would-be players and certain established ones, are thought to be at stake for some illogical reason.

So, all the players were told to assemble at 9am sharp at the Kotla. The request of many senior players to play the final match of a prestigious local tournament was ruthlessly turned down for the sake of a serious opening practice session.

Sadly, it turned out to be a dusty joke.

Apart from one or two regulars, the day was devoted to finding out the hidden talent of the forced intruders in the probables list. At last, there was some success. The player (whose name has been repeatedly mentioned throughout the Ranji season for all the wrong reasons) and was selected as a bowling all-rounder suddenly turned into a "batting all-rounder".

The other, his compatriot in the "influence" stakes, was also given proper attention at the nets. A few youngsters were lucky enough to get some practice but most regular were seen killing their time by providing a good cricketing atmosphere to the "new talent" of Delhi.

The two teams will now be selected on Tuesday. Hopefully.