NCA doors closed for LR Shukla

In spite of the request by the joint secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal, Debdas Banerjee, the authorities at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore have refused to accept Lakshmi Ratan Shukla back in it. In a fax message to Banerjee, the director of the NCA Hanumant Singh has stated once more that it would be pointless for Shukla to attend the camp again. The fax message clearly states that Shukla will be unable to adjust to the classes currently on simply because he has missed a large number of them.

The CAB joint secretary said on Wednesday that he could do little more on the issue. "Even though the NCA had not asked for our opinion regarding the selection of cricketers from Bengal, I had decided to intervene on behalf of Shukla only because he is from this state. However, since they have answered in the negative, I cannot do anything else. As far as the CAB is concerned, the matter is closed."

When contacted, Shukla himself was not available for comment. However, his father Umesh Shukla said, "It is a fact that he missed the camp because of injury. Now he is 100% fit. But what else can I say? It would be wrong for me to contradict anybody as my son is a budding cricketer." He added that Shukla was back to his normal fitness. "He has also started bowling regularly during the last couple of days. However, the doctor will give him the fitness certificate only on July 18 after a final check up."