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Lele hits out at Kapil

Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Jaywant Lele has taken serious view of Indian coach Kapil Dev overruling his directive not to invite medium pacers Ajit Agarkar and Harvinder Sodhi to bowl at the nets.

Kapil yesterday had invited Ajit Agarkar and Harvinder Sodhi to bowl at the Indians in the nets in preparation for the third and final Test against New Zealand, which begins at Ahmedabad tomorrow, despite the board secretary refusing permission.

Agarkar is well aware that the Indian team for the Australia series is to be selected during the Test. And so, in his eagerness to impress the selectors, proceeded to Ahmedabad, defying clear instructions from Lele not to.

Lele was quoted in MID-DAY, Bombay eveninger, as saying that he had specifically informed Agarkar not to go to Ahmedabad.

"Agarkar should have played in the Times Shield in Mumbai. Instead, he went to Ahmedabad despite my telling him not to. This is a very serious issue and I will take appropriate action. Even if he submits a fitness certificate, he must play in some matches to prove his fitness. How can Dev gauge his fitness at the nets?" he said.

"Dev and I spoke in Kanpur about Agarkar and Sodhi participating in the nets and I had refused permission. Who is Dev to decide on his own? BCCI have given me the power to decide on extra players for Ahmedabad."

Lele said Kapil has undermined his authority and the matter will be reported to the BCCI president for appropriate action. "Even if Agarkar gets a fitness certificate from Kapil, the BCCI will not take cognisance of it," he said.

He also did not agree with Kapil's version that the Indian team was short of practice bowlers, and added that there were plenty of local lads for that purpose.

Lele's stance may dash Agarkar's hopes of returning to the Indian team from which he was dropped following a leg injury.

UNI