A major uproar erupted in Pondicherry cricket circles yesterday. Cricket Association of Pondicherry (CAP) Under-19 coach S. Venkataraman was attacked with a bat by three local players.
The reason given was that he had been dropped from the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy squad. This incident occurred at the CAP training center, where the coach received 20 stitches for a head injury and suffered a fractured shoulder.
The police have registered a case, but the attackers are still at large. This incident highlights the level of anger surrounding team selection in cricket.
The Dirty Game of Team Selection
Venkataraman said that he was leading practice at the CAP indoor nets around 11 a.m. on Monday afternoon when three players, Karthikeyan Jayasundaram, A. Aravindaraj, and S. Santosh Kumaran, stormed in.
They grabbed the coach and began beating him with bats. Venkataraman stated in his complaint,
“While Aravinddaraj held me, Karthikeyan took the bat that Santhosh Kumaran had and attacked me… They hit me, saying Chandran had told them they would only get a chance if they killed me.”
In other words, he alleged that G. Chandran instigated them and told them to hit the coach, only then would they get a chance. The coach suffered a severe head injury that required 20 stitches, and a broken shoulder.
Police have filed an FIR at the Sedarapet police station. Sub-Inspector S. Rajesh stated, “Venkataraman received 20 stitches on his forehead, but he is stable. The players are absconding, and we are trying to track them down.”
The coach is stable, but the players have fled, and the police are searching for them. Venkataraman also accused Chandran of instigating the attack.
Old Grudges and Investigation Pressure
This attack did not happen suddenly. A day earlier, a report by the Indian Express had made a major revelation about the CAP. The report stated that the association was favoring outstation players over local Pondicherry-born players.
Since 2021, only five local players have been able to play in Ranji Trophy matches. This has been troubling local cricketers. The attackers’ group, the Bharathidasan Pondicherry Cricketers Forum, has denied this.
They stated that there were prior complaints against Venkataraman, but these had nothing to do with the attack.
BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia reacted to this. He said, “Raise some serious issues” that will be examined.
CAP CEO Raju Metha also clearly stated, “Zero tolerance for corruption.”
These statements indicate that the matter has reached the top.
Now it remains to be seen what the police do. It is essential to apprehend the attackers, otherwise an atmosphere of fear will prevail on the cricket grounds. The CAP will have to clean up the system to give opportunities to local talent.
The BCCI investigation may bring some improvement, but Venkataraman is currently recovering in the hospital. It’s sad to see this side of cricket.
