Top DDCA office-bearers, players, team captain and coach had no idea about the whereabouts of the trophy (a miniature replica that the winning team receives as the actual trophy is kept by the BCCI) presented to them after they beat Uttar Pradesh in the final. They do not have a clue to the where the trophy may be, and have been unaware for two months now.

Coach Vijay Dahiya thought it was kept in display of the DDCA president’s room but admitted he was only making a guess. “I have no clue where it is, but I am sure it must be safely kept somewhere in the stadium,” he said.

Vice-president Chetan Chauhan, also a former cricketer, was also at loss of words to explain where the trophy was. “I don’t know, I thought it was in the president’s room, but if it’s not there, then I don’t know where it could be.

“I will immediately take up this matter and enquire. In fact I haven’t even seen what this new version looks like,” he told Sportline.

For the record, the replica version of the Ranji Trophy is not in any of the eight office bearer’s rooms, it’s not at the Ferozeshah Kotla either — and neither is it at the residence of any player or manger.

Strangely, amidst the urgency and more important DDCA executive elections, this matter of finding the trophy was conveniently forgotten!

Lost and Found
Sportline traced the Trophy in the ‘safe custody’ of former Delhi manager DS Bawa. Sports secretary Sunil Dev later admitted that he had, during the course of celebrations, asked Bawa to keep it with him lest it get lost, and subsequently never remembered to ask him to hand it back to the DDCA.

“I am sure that the trophy is safe and I am sure about getting it back too. I will call him and ask him to hand it over to us immediately,” he said.

Bawa, meanwhile denied he was trying to keep it in his possession. “Why would I keep it with me? I was told to keep it safe and that’s what I have done. I have kept it under lock and key and not even put it out on display. And it’s just a small 8-inch, normal-looking trophy, nothing like the real one. I definitely had no plans to hijack it.

“In fact, nobody reminded me about it, I had it with me all this time. But now I will hand it back to them tomorrow,” said Bawa when contacted.

And that’s not all
End of the story? No, its just the beginning of a whole new battle! Apparently, now the entire lot is having a difference of opinion on where this trophy should be kept. While a section of the DDCA wants this to be kept in the president’s room, there are others who want this trophy to be kept alongside other trophies won by the DDCA in the premises of sports secretary’s room.

However, Chauhan feels it’s a matter of great pride for Delhi and that it should be displayed prominently in the lobby for everyone to see.