Rajat Sharma resigns as DDCA president, says 'no compromise with principles'

Senior journalist Rajat Sharma on Saturday, November 16, tendered his resignation from the post of president of Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA), citing his inability to continue amidst "various pulls and pressures" within the organisation.

The DDCA took to Twitter to share the news: "News alert: @RajatSharmaLive has tendered his resignation from the post of President, DDCA with immediate effect and forwarded it to the Apex Council."

Sharma was appointed as DDCA President in July 2018, beating World Cup winning former Indian cricketer Madal Lal to the post. His group had also managed to win all 12 seats in the DDCA elections. Sharma's nearly 20-month tenure was a tumultuous one with his public differences with general secretary Vinod Tihara, who enjoys a fair amount of support base in the organisation.

'Cricket administration is full of pulls & pressures'

"The cricket administration here is full of pulls and pressures all the time. I feel that vested interests are always actively working against the interest of cricket," Sharma said in a statement. "It seems that it may not be possible to carry on in DDCA with my principles of integrity, honesty and transparency, which I am not willing to compromise at any cost," he added.

Sharma had joined cricket administration after receiving active backing from former finance minister late Arun Jaitley. Many DDCA insiders believe that Sharma lost ground once Jaitley was no more as the late former finance minister was the binding force for all the different factions.

"In my endeavour though I faced many road blocks, opposition and oppression, just to keep me from discharging my duties in fair and transparent," Sharma said. "That's why I have decided to call it a day and hereby tender my resignation to the Apex Council from the post of President, DDCA with immediate effect," he added.

(With agency inputs)