‘They were very friendly at the nets’
Neeraj Chauhan
New Delhi, May 23: Mudit spends nearly four hours at the National Sports Club Cricket Academy nets every day, perfecting his batting skills. But on Wednesday, a day after his coaches Maninder Singh and Saim Siddiqui were arrested on drug charges, he just hung around for a while and went home.
For the academy’s 25 trainees, the case has come as a shocker worse than the most vicious break the former India left-arm spinner managed in his career.
“They (coaches) were extremely friendly at the nets, and that adds to the blow,” Mudit said.
“Siddiqui-sir was seen more frequently at the academy than Maninder Singh,” said fellow trainee, 16-year-old Kushal. “Since his (Maninder’s) commitments as a commentator kept him busy in the last few months we had not seen him for quite some time.”
With Maninder and Siddiqui’s arrest, the academy is now left with only one coach. Inaugurated on April 13, 2005, the academy trains youngsters for a one-time entry fee of Rs 2,500 and a monthly fee of Rs 1,500.
Most students meanwhile said they are apprehensive about their stint in the club, especially with the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) authorities having no alternate plan. NSCI chairman B R Handa said: “I had never seen Saim Siddiqui at the club but Maninder Singh is an honorary member. He is one of the 14,000 members we have in (NSCI) Mumbai and Delhi.”
Trainees said while Maninder visited the club off and on, it was his close friend Siddiqui who coached daily — between 3.30 pm and 7 pm. According to information, Siddiqui had played Under-19 and league cricket for Delhi.
“Both did not come on Monday and Tuesday,” said Sheetal Kumar, who is looking after the nets for the past two years. “Siddiqui-sir usually left the academy around 7 pm but Singh-saheb stayed back even after we were closed.”
Kumar said Maninder visited the academy on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
(With inputs from Pulkit Vasudha)
Source: Indian Express