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Deepak Hooda Gets Into Rift With Rajasthan; Threatens To Quit Captaincy Over Team Selection

Abhinav Tyagi

Deepak Hooda- (Source: @Mandakini/X.com)Deepak Hooda- (Source: @Mandakini/X.com)

Rajasthan captain Deepak Hooda has landed in hot waters, as reports suggest, that he has been involved in a rift with Rajasthan management. According to Sportskeeda, Hooda skipped the pre-match training. 

Notably, Hooda was upset over a few selection calls and missed the pre-match training at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium ahead of the crucial match 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.

Deepak Hooda Threatened To Leave Captaincy

The debate occurred due to the omission of Kunal Singh Rathore, as Hooda wanted him to stay in the team while the ad-hoc committee left him out of the squad. It is worth noting that Hooda and the vice-captain had even threatened to leave their leadership roles. 

The RCA wanted them to continue at least till the Hyderabad game and eventually the Rajasthan Cricket Association bowed down to Hooda's demand.

“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's Rift With Krunal Pandya

It is worth noting that Hooda earlier represented Baroda till 2020, and left the team and shifted his base to Rajasthan following a rift and outburst with Krunal Pandya. 

At the time of writing this article, Rajasthan have locked horns against Hyderabad, and the latter are 191/4. Deepak Hooda is leading the side.