A retired High Court judge has begun the process of overseeing Test match preparations on behalf on an age-old... Read More

NEW DELHI: On Saturday afternoon at the Ferozeshah Kotla , a retired High Court judge began the process of overseeing Test match preparations on behalf on an age-old, corruption-ridden cricket association.

It is an unwanted scenario for any sports body and one of Justice Mukul Mudgal 's first steps was ensure the appointment of a former Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to look after the tender processes for the fourth Test between India and South Africa starting December 3.

"All the tenders that will be issued for the Test match will be verified independently by a former deputy CAG. In order to make the process fair and transparent, all tender documents will be checked and scrutinized by him," Mudgal announced before he took questions from the media.

Dressed in a denim pant and a T-shirt, Mudgal took a round of the stadium, inspecting each corner and looking at the comfort factor of spectators. Food, water, washrooms and old-fashioned ticket counters, all came under his scrutiny.

His intention, clearly, is to have the controversy-ridden DDCA on its toes and shake up the Delhi cricket establishment. Mudgal's appointment by the Delhi High Court is being perceived in some quarters as a slap in the face of the faction-ridden DDCA. Those within the association who are more optimistic see this as the first step to ridding Delhi cricket of its ills.

Justice Mudgal, after all, is familiar with how the show is run in Indian cricket and he loves the sport too. He is also the man who rattled a few powerful forces in the Indian cricket board ( BCCI ) while probing the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal.

"I want to make the match spectator-friendly," Mudgal declared. "Not many people come to watch Tests these days. We have given a proposal, subject to the approval of the High Court, that two stands at ground level should have free tickets for school children, preferably of weaker section. We will move an application to the HC.

"We are also trying to see children are provided some edibles. We never know how a Kumble, Tendulkar, Dravid or a Bishan Bedi might emerge from them, because these are students who can never afford a Test match ticket. There should be free water, purified by RO, available with disposable glasses. Food will be available at reasonable rates and not at exorbitant rates. This is one condition for anybody accepting a food tender," he asserted. The avid cricket lover, who is proud of having witnessed some storied encounters at this venue, said with a smirk: "This stadium needs to be worked on."

In acknowledgement of Mudgal's ideas, DDCA's working president Chetan Chauhan said: "If need be, the DDCA itself can buy and hold back 10,000 tickets each day for school children."

Tickets and free passes generally fuel the omnipresent infighting in DDCA. Swindling allegations multiply when an international match is played. Mudgal said only 10,000 free passes had been allocated as per the court's order. "In a Test match, we don't envisage a full house. That's why the idea of calling school children, since empty stands do not provide a cricketing atmosphere," he said. "There is going to be a ticket counter. There may be one agency to give tickets online but there will certainly be a physical old-fashioned ticket counter, which I was used to during my youth," a confident Mudgal remarked.