Uttarakhand Cricket Association's foul play: Police question officials after alleged 'death threats'

Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU) is reeling under a storm after Virendra Sethi, the father of a U-19 cricketer lodged a complaint against CAU alleging extortion and death threats to his son, Arya Sethi, during the Vijay Hazare tournament last year.

The police even interrogated CAU secretary Mahim Verma, team's head coach Manish Jha and Association's spokesperson Sanjay Gusain whose names were mentioned in Sethi's complaint. Sethi alleged that Verma had demanded Rs 10 Lakh for including his son in the state team.

But Sethi’s allegations may just be highlighting the tip of the iceberg, considering there are other allegations against the state government body that range from huge financial discrepancies to intimidating young players.

As per a report by the Indian Express, there are huge discrepancies in the associations’s account keeping as well. While the players point to non-payment or underpayment of dues, the financial books show otherwise.

The players in the past had also alleged of food not being provided during the training and tournament camps. However, as per an audit report of March 31st, 2020 almost 35 lakhs were splurged for just bananas and 22 lakhs for water bottles - a figure that even a layman might refuse to believe, considering this includes the time of the pandemic as well.

Umesh Kumar, an independent MLA from Uttarakhand has also levelled allegations of corruption against the association officials. As per Kumar, the CAU books show Rs 1.27 crores of expenses for just lunch and dinner during the Pandemic.

'During lockdown when everything was shut, they invested Rs 11 crore, and under full operation, the board is investing 12 crore', Kumar pointed out while asking the BCCI to intervene.

The BCCI Apex Council’s meeting is all set to take place on July 21, and it remains to be seen whether the top officials in the Indian Cricket Board take any action against the Uttarakhand Association.