HYDERABAD: The Ajit Wadekar-led squad that toured England and West Indies in 1971 is part of India’s cricket lore. They had made history by recording India’s first-ever Test series wins in those countries.
Fast forward to the present, when big money in cricket is the talk of the town. One of the members of that iconic team is struggling to get Rs 25 lakh, promised by the BCCI as one-time benefit for playing more than 75 first-class matches. The former cricketer claims he played more than that.
Devraj Devendraraj Govindraj, 70, is a former speedster who never played for India, but had a first-class career spanning a decade (1964/65-1974/75). In 2012, when N Srinivasan was the BCCI chief, the announcement of the benefit was made. Since then, Govindraj has been writing to the BCCI but says he is yet to get a reply.
“A number of representations submitted by me to the BCCI administrators in the last five years have met with zero response. I need to know the reason behind them not giving me the promised amount. Unless I get to know the reason, how would I proceed with the necessary actions.”
The former player has written a letter — copy of which is with Express — to the Committee of Administrators chairman Vinod Rai on June 6 but is yet to receive a reply. Govindraj also said that the monthly BCCI pension of Rs 22,500 that he receives is not enough.
Former BCCI statistician Mohandas Menon helped Govindraj prepare the list of the first-class matches he had played and the number comes to 93.
“They were all recognised first-class matches at that time, but the confusion might lie with the Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup, which lost the first-class status after the 1973-74 season,” Menon said.
Govindraj said there might be some confusion about the matches he played against English and West Indies first-class sides. “I heard they are not convinced about those matches in England and West Indies. I spoke with many former internationals. They are all surprised. I played 12 matches in England. How can matches against county teams not be considered first-class?”
When this newspaper contacted the BCCI General Manager (Game Development), Ratnakar Shetty, he said, “He should write to us again and we will definitely look into this.”
Govindraj runs an academy in the city, away from his family that lives in London. He had to drive buses in London after his cricketing career got over, but lost the job because of deteriorating health. “If I get the money, I might be able to do something about my health and for my family,” Govindraj concluded.
vishal@newindianexpress.com