By IANS,
Mohali (Punjab) : The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has made peace with cricketing legend Kapil Dev, who took umbrage over his poster being removed from the Mohali stadium and had threatened to take back the memorabilia and personal gifts he had donated to the PCA.
PCA secretary M.P. Pandove has informed Kapil Dev that all his memorabilia and personal gifts are safe and are properly taken care of. The World Cup winning captain in turn has expressed his satisfaction.
Pandove told IANS Wednesday that it all started with media trying to create a needless controversy. The posters of Kapil and Sachin Tendulkar at the entrance to the PCA Stadium in Mohali were getting weather-beaten. And in a storm Kapil’s poster got partly peeled off. It was decided to peel it off completely instead of letting it hang shabbily.
“Imagine, if we had left it as it is, we would have been pilloried for letting the torn poster adorn the wall instead of removing it. It now transpires that for us it was a no-win situation,” said Pandove.
Eyebrows were raised about Kapil’s poster being torn while those of others including Sunil Gavaskar were not spoilt.
Pandove wondered how anyone could think that the PCA would dishonour a great player just because they don’t see eye to eye on a particular issue.
“We are all proud of his cricket legacy and he will have his rightful place at the stadium. I would like to assure not only Kapil but all those who have created this unfortunate controversy that a fitting mural, cut-out or a bust would be installed at an appropriate place in the renovated stadium complex soon after the monsoon,” Pandove said.
Pandove wondered how the whole controversy was sought to be kept alive even after PCA president Inderjit Singh Bindra had cleared the air two weeks ago, saying that Kapil’s mural would be back at an appropriate place after the renovation work at the stadium got over.
He also said that too much was being read into a simple e-mail from Kapil just wanting to know whether the PCA would like to retain his memorabilia in view of the media reports.
He said it had been made out as if a miffed Kapil shot off a letter wanting his “gifts and memorabilia” back when it was not the case.
“It is nice of Kapil to clarify the position and I hope nothing more is said or written about this,” said Pandove.
The World Cup winning captain is reported to have written: “I am concerned about the personal gifts and memorabilia of my cricketing years and also that of the 1983 World Cup cricket tournament, given by me to the Punjab Cricket Association, which are kept at various places at the Mohali ground.
“I apprehend that now the Punjab Cricket Association may not like to preserve the memorabilia any more. I will be really be grateful if the same is returned to me so that I can preserve them since I have personal attachments and I am emotionally attached with all such items, which were used by me personally throughout my cricketing years.”
Saying Kapil’s memorabilia and gifts are safe, Pandove said: “I have written to him assuring him that his belongings are absolutely in fine condition, even better than what they would have been at Kapil’s house.”
The former all-rounder reciprocated to Pandove’s letter, saying he had no intention of seeking those back.
“I never asked them to return (those memorabilia). I said ‘if you wish not to keep my stuff, give it back to me, rather than throwing it into the dustbin’, so that I can preserve those,” Kapil told news channels.
Kapil said he was only reacting to media reports. “As the media reported, they removed my poster, so I felt a little uneasy because I had given a few very important things to them,” he said.
Kapil has been at loggerheads with the Board of control for cricket in India (BCCI) after he became the chairman of the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) floated last year by the Essel group.
He was first sacked at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) chairman and then his pension as a cricketer was stopped after he joined ICL. The BCCI also has showed reluctance in honouring him and the 1983 world cup winning team even in the 25th anniversary of the historic win this year.
The legendary all-rounder, who hails from the nearby Chandigarh city, is famous in this region for having made it big in cricket despite being from a humble background.
He was closely associated in the setting up of the PCA stadium in the initial years.