His poster stripped, Kapil tells Mohali: Return all I gave

“I am concerned about the personal gifts and memorabilia of my cricketing years and also that of the 1983 World Cup cricket tournament, given by me to the Punjab Cricket Association, which are kept at various places at the Mohali ground. I apprehend that now the Punjab Cricket Association may not like to preserve the memorabilia mentioned above any more. I will be really be grateful if the same is returned to me so that I can preserve them since I have personal attachments and I am emotionally attached with all such items, which were used by me personally throughout my cricketing years.

“Therefore, if you are not at all willing to preserve and find it difficult to keep those items or ever think of throwing them out in that case I would really be grateful if the same is returned to me so that I can preserve them. Please do not take it otherwise, it’s only my feelings, emotions and attachments with my things which are so dear to me.”

Kapil’s alliance with the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), of which he is the chairman, led to the BCCI sacking him from the National Cricket Academy, stopping his pension, and then stripping his poster from the Mohali stadium.

When contacted about the letter, Kapil confirmed that he had sent it. “I didn’t start this whole thing. If they have no respect for cricketers like me, it is natural for me to fear about the safety and utility of my stuff lying with them,” he told The Indian Express.

Despite several attempts, the PCA officials, including Pandove and president I S Bindra, were not available for comment. Earlier, when asked why Kapil’s poster had been removed, Pandove had told this newspaper: “Kapil’s poster has been removed from its place. A new extension has been constructed at the PCA Stadium, and we’re just looking for an appropriate place to put up his poster there. As soon as we find a place, we will place it.”