Selector who picked Tendulkar for 1989 Pak tour ignored by BCCI, CAB

It was never going to be easy for fans to get a ticket for Sachin Tendulkar’s 199th and 200th Tests in Kolkata and Mumbai respectively. But who would have thought that one of the most important men in the Master Blaster’s career would find the doors closed when it came to witnessing Tendulkar’s final moments on a cricket pitch. According to a report in  India Today, Akash Lal, one of the two surviving selectors who picked Tendulkar for the 1989 tour of Pakistan, was left completely ignored by the BCCI and the CAB (Cricket Association of Bengal) when it came to giving out invitations to watch the Test at Eden Gardens. [caption id=“attachment_1215099” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sachin Tendulkar. AFP[/caption] Lal is quoted in the report as saying: “I asked CAB President Jagmohan Dalmiya four days ago that it would be a great gesture if the two surviving members (the other is Gundappa Viswanath) of the selection committee that chose Sachin were given tickets for Eden Gardens. Dalmiya ignored me completely and said that there is a difference between being former India players and former India selectors… OK call me four days later, we will see…I felt humiliated. Now if the BCCI gives me ticket for Eden or Wankhede, I will think twice whether I will go or not.” Now there is always the argument of it being a question of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ Tendulkar would be picked for the Indian side, but Lal feels that he ‘deserves’ to see Sachin play one last time. In a stinging retort, Lal took a dig at BCCI President N Srinivasan saying the Board knew more about cement than cricket and that most of the members are politicians and builders. The five-member committee that selected Tendulkar in 1989 comprised then chairman of selection committee Raj Singh Dungarpur, Akash Lal, Ramesh Saxena, Gundappa Viswanath and Naren Tamhane. Click here to read the full India Today report.