Hemang Badanis never-ending exile

His former team,Tamil Nadu,are playing Railways in their Super League match in Delhi. The side he was to represent this year,Rajasthan...

His former team,Tamil Nadu,are playing Railways in their Super League match in Delhi. The side he was to represent this year,Rajasthan,are involved in a Plate Division tussle against Assam in Guwahati. He himself is sitting at home,unsure of when he will step on to a cricket field next.

Former India middle-order Hemang Badani was one of the 79 rebel cricketers who jumped the Indian Cricket League ship and took up the Indian cricket boards amnesty offer in April this year. He is one of the few,though,who are yet to find a way back into the mainstream through no fault of his and has been spending the last couple of days following the Ranji Trophy on the internet.

The Tamil Nadu veteran was ignored by the Tamil Nadu side,who built a strong middle-order when Badani was away playing for the Chennai Superstars in the ICL. He was then contracted by the Rajasthan Cricket Association for the 2009-10 season,and would have been playing in Guwahati but for the power struggle that has played out at the association,with the ad hoc committee that has taken over refusing to play the guest cricketers picked by their predecessors.

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I have no clue why am I not playing the Ranji match, Badani told The Indian Express on Tuesday. I havent been informed of the decision,nobody has bothered calling me. I have been trying to get in touch with them,Ive called them and even texted them several times but they are yet to get back to me. I dont know whats happening.

Shivcharan Mali,a member of the ad hoc committee,said the decision not to pick him and two other outstation players was taken by the selectors. The coach and selectors thought they were not needed. The ad hoc committee has no role to play in this matter, he said.

Badani,incidentally,was part of one of the two Rajasthan teams picked by the opposing factions that had travelled to Indore for the BCCIs Twenty20 tournament last month. Neither side was allowed to take the field as the board barred them from the event.

I was part of one of the two teams in Indore when we were stopped from playing. So how come I am not being considered now. Not only am I losing out on revenue,I am being denied the opportunity to play, he added.

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Having registered with the RCA,Badani cannot aspire to play for his Tamil Nadu even if he does get a look-in,as the deadline for players registration closes on September 31. I was supposed to play for Rajasthan this season and after taking the NOC from Tamil Nadu,I have nowhere else to go. I am sitting at home following matches on TV and Internet when I should be playing. They have some internal issues,but why should I suffer for no my fault of mine?

Incidentally,Badani is yet to receive his copy of the signed contract. I have email correspondence and the NOC and approval from the Board that says I am free to play for RCA. But I dont have my copy of the signed contract as they are yet to give it to me, he said.

I havent thought of my plan of action yet. Actually,I dont even know who to approach.