At the new-look Kotla, DDCA wipes off a piece of history

The Ferozeshah Kotla has undergone a complete revamp in its 75th year, but ironically a vital piece of history has been wiped off in the process.

The Ferozeshah Kotla has undergone a complete revamp in its 75th year, but ironically a vital piece of history has been wiped off in the process. The Raman Lamba Dressing Room doesn’t exist anymore.

The Delhi and District Cricket Association had named the home side’s dressing room after the late Indian batsman and mercurial Delhi skipper who died tragically on the field after being hit on the head. It was always occupied by the Indian team during international matches and by the Delhi team in domestic competitions.

While the Kotla facelift involved moving the dressing rooms from the ground floor to the first floor, the Delhi Ranji side continued to use the old one. But now, for the Indian Premier League, the old dressing room has been converted into a VVIP lounge for guests and all portraits of Lamba, and the nameplates, have been disposed off.

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Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya is quite upset. “Whenever the state names anything after a cricketer, it’s in recognition of his service to the state. It’s not time-bound. I sincerely hope that the home dressing room retains the name. When players enter the Raman Lamba dressing room, they know the impact he’s had in the game. That is inspiring,” Dahiya said.

Chetan Chauhan, former India batsman and DDCA vice-president said he would ensure the oversight is corrected. “It’s rather sad that such a thing has happened. Lamba has been my roommate and he was a fantastic cricketer. Every time you entered the dressing room at the Kotla, you realised his contribution to the Delhi team. I have personally collected the old portraits of Lamba and will place this issue before the executive committee when they meet next month. The new dressing room should also retain the same name. We cannot change names just because we have changed base.”

The Delhi players are obviously miffed at the DDCA’s actions, but aren’t exactly surprised, for they too have been treated with similar disdain in the recent past.

At a function that coincided with the DDCA’s much-publicised flood-light inauguration before the IPL matches, they felicitated Sunil Dev, who was the manager of the Indian team that won the T20 world championships, junior selector Sanjeev Sharma — for his part in selecting the side that won the under-19 World Cup — and Chetan Chauhan. But they ignored the likes of Gautam Gambhir — India’s best batsman in the Twenty20 World Cup — under-19 skipper Virat Kohli, the tournament’s best bowler Pradeep Sangwan, Aakash Chopra, who scored more than 1000 runs in the season and Amit Bhandari, who reached the 300-wicket milestone this season.

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The IPL has been marketed as the biggest thing to hit world cricket, but the DDCA has, as usual, forgotten that the smaller details matter as well.