Deepak Hooda misses Rajasthan practice session amid dispute with officials over team selection

New Delhi: Rajasthan captain Deepak Hooda finds himself in hot water amid reports of a dispute with the Rajasthan team management. According to Sportskeeda, Hooda chose to skip the pre-match training session.

Notably, Hooda was reportedly frustrated over certain selection decisions, leading him to miss the pre-match training at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium ahead of the crucial clash against Hyderabad.

“This has been an issue since the start of the season. There have been multiple disagreements over player selection between the ad hoc panel and the captain and coach. However, yesterday, things got a bit out of control as the captain, although he came for the practice session, continued to sit out. He was constantly on his phone, busy on calls with the ad hoc committee members and the Sports Minister ” a source in the Rajasthan Cricket Association told Sportstar.

The disagreement stemmed from the exclusion of Kunal Singh Rathore, whom Hooda wanted retained in the squad, while the ad-hoc committee decided otherwise. Reportedly, both Hooda and the vice-captain had even threatened to step down from their leadership roles over the matter.

The Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) requested Hooda and the vice-captain to continue in their roles at least until the Hyderabad game, eventually conceding to Hooda’s demand regarding the squad selection.

“These things happen when there are several people trying to make a decision. The more heads, the more the opinions. It isn’t wrong and it is not a controversy. The captain wanted wicketkeeper-batter Kunal Singh Rathore to continue even though he hasn’t performed for a while now. He has hit only one fifty in his last three games,” ad-hoc panel member Dharmveer said.

“We have been accommodating enough to include the captain and coach in all our team selection meetings. Kunal didn’t make the initial 15 but the captain was not willing to take the field without him. We decided to listen to him because he felt his addition would be good for the team. I had a chat with the convenor and captain. I just wished (Kunal) Rathore well. We all want him to perform. It is just that we felt Rajkumar Saini would have been a good choice. He has done well in the domestic circuit,” Dharmveer added.

Hooda previously played for Baroda until 2020, but he moved to Rajasthan after a fallout with Krunal Pandya. Currently, Rajasthan is facing Hyderabad, with Hyderabad at 191/4, and Hooda is captaining the team in this crucial match.