KUALA LUMPUR – National cricketer Harinder Singh Sekhon has finally thrown in the towel after a frustrating battle over his abrupt non-selection with the Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA).
Speaking to The Vibes, Harinder said the association gave him a non-committal response which failed to address his concerns.
“They sort of blatantly disregarded everything pertaining to the explanation on my removal from the national team.
How come was it only me that got removed whereas others with a similar situation are still in the team?
“Every player in the national pool was also in the training (WhatsApp) chat group.
“So, all information regarding practices of the national team, be it on training schedule or selection matches, is communicated there,” said the 31-year-old.
Harinder, who plays as a wicketkeeper, took to his social media account on September 27 to share how he was removed from the chat group by national coach Bilal Asad without being given a proper reason, as he could not attend practice due to his full-time work.
He shared that MCA made it difficult to manage his work and training when he was only notified of the training schedule four days before it started.
The training session was scheduled to start on September 26, but we were only notified about it four days before. Then, they also made some changes on the 24th.
“It is not enough time to tell your superior that you need some time off from work.
“Unfortunately, this has been the practice for a long time. There have been multiple times where I have taken pay cuts due to unpaid leave,” he had said, then.
Earlier, MCA president Muhammed Iqbal Ali Kassim Ali explained to The Vibes that cricket remains a team sport, whereas “team practice sessions and practice matches are scheduled well ahead of time to allow players to arrange their time appropriately”.
Harinder’s story has been receiving widespread coverage from the local media.
Following his formal complaint, MCA issued a statement on Tuesday saying it investigated the coach’s conduct but found no wrongdoing.
The statement read, “Bilal Asad in his capacity of national men’s coach has acted within his remit and at no time dealt with the player in question unfairly, beyond established procedures or outside the spirit of cricket.
“As such no further action or measures is required.”
Given MCA’s response, Harinder decided that he would not be pursuing the matter any further as it has been stressful as well as mentally and emotionally draining for him.
He said the purpose of coming forward about his story was to raise awareness about the “abuse of power” on the national cricketing level and how standard operating procedures are not being followed.
“His (Bilal) silence about this issue speaks volumes on his involvement with abusing his power and a proper system being non-existent, basically,” he added. – The Vibes, October 5, 2022
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