Kirti sufferes from political indigestion

“How long can I tolerate such pressures and why should I be a party to the inner-politics of some members of the association,” he said, when contacted. He said he was disgusted the way the selection trials were made to be conducted, with the announcement of `open trials’ after the selectors had named 32 probables.

“Are we selectors incompetent?,” he asked in a tone that showed more disappointment than anger. “How does oneexpect us to pick the team from over 150 boys at the nets? Can anyone do justice to the job?,” he asked.

“We had initially selected 32 probables after going through the merits and de-merits of a number of players on their performances in the last one year. The DDCA should have confidence in us. Later, the president added 18 more names to make it 50. I reluctantly agreed to it to honour the post of the president. But the open trials was too much to digest. There were pressures from all quarters to include certain players. The credibility of the selectors is lost,” he said, raising his voice.

“Some people in the DDCA are willing to bend their backs to save their own skins. I cannot be a party to such things. I cannot tolerate politics in sports,” he said.

Why then in the first place did he accept the job of a selector when all along he had been critical of the functioning of the present administrators?

“Well, with such senior India cricketers like Madan Lal and Surinder Khanna in the panel, Iaccepted the task with a positive frame of mind. I was confident of doing it (setting things right),” he said.

A tenacious cricketer in his heydays, he obviously could neither set things right not take the pressure. Then, why is he quitting the scene now?