Manan Sharma, son of former India cricketer Ajay Sharma, became the latest player to quit the Delhi cricket set-up, saying he was fed up with the internal politics and inconsistency in selection matters.

Manan, a left-arm spinner who has represented India at the under-19 level and played for Delhi in first-class one-dayers, will be turning out for Haryana this season. Off-spinner Narinder Singh, meanwhile, has joined the Railways, while at least two other players who have represented Delhi could seek No Objection Certificates before the August 31 deadline.

“I have performed at all levels, even when the odds were stacked against me,” Manan, who collected his NOC on August 13, told The Indian Express. “Still I didn’t get chances I deserved, there were many who didn’t do enough or lacked merit but got their chances, so I thought it was better to leave. I didn’t like the atmosphere, there was just too much going on around.”

Manan’s decision is believed to have been taken in consultations with senior members of the Delhi Ranji team, who agreed that he had better opportunities outside Delhi, while agreeing that inconsistent selection was a deterrent for several promising youngsters.

Incidentally, Rahul Dewan, who won the BCCI best under-22 player award last season, has also turned towards Haryana. The 23-year old batsman scored 514 runs in six matches at an average of 54 with a double century, and also represented North Zone in the Duleep Trophy in his debut year. DDCA’s selection policies came under the scanner last season with senior players such as Rahul Sanghvi and Amit Bhandari crying foul.

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