Two Delhi Under-23 players, in the city to play a Col CK Nayudu Trophy match against Bengal, were sent back for allegedly misbehaving with a lady at a city hotel.

The alleged incident happened at a bypass hotel on Thursday, where the team and support staff have been staying. The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) acted swiftly and asked the players to return following complaints from the hotel authorities.

“The players involved said sorry and we ended the matter there,” a hotel spokesperson said. “Later the full team went, met the lady and apologised for the behaviour.”

No police complaint has been lodged so far.

While the two players involved returned by the earliest available flight, replacements Mayank Bansal and Anirudh Choudhary arrived before the opening day of the match at the Jadavpur University Salt Lake Campus ground got underway on Friday.

Pacer Mayank has been included in the playing XI.

The DDCA also initiated a probe into the incident and sent one of its directors, Sanjay Bhardwaj, to look into the incident.

Bhardwaj is learnt to have left the city after a thorough investigation on Friday evening and will submit his report within a couple of days.

Contacted by The Telegraph Vinod Kumar Tihara, a top-ranked DDCA official, said: “I am not aware of the details of the incident. But something untoward has happened.

“We wanted to know the details of the incident and that is why we sent director Sanjay Bhardwaj to Calcutta. He will submit his report to the disciplinary committee and we will then take a call about the future of two cricketers.

“But we are in no hurry, since we have to first know what has happened. Let Bhardwaj submit his report.”

The DDCA has been mired in a lot of off-the-field controversies, involving officials, in the recent past. President Rajat Sharma quit last month and the annual general meeting is scheduled to be held on Sunday.

It was learnt that the two changes were made to the Delhi squad at the eleventh hour. No official reason was given for the changes.

The match started after an almost four-hour delay because of overnight rain and the resultant wet outfield.

Only 36 overs of play was possible during the day. Batting first, Delhi reached 110 for four at close.

Pradipta Pramanik was the pick of the bowlers taking two wickets for 22 runs. Sandipan Das and Mohammad Kaif took one wicket each.

Making good use of the overcast conditions, Bengal bowlers kept Delhi under pressure as they lost wickets at regular intervals.

Bengal U-23 team coach Saurasish Lahiri said: “We won the toss and decided to field first. Though the first day went well for us, Delhi are a very strong side, and so we have to very cautious.”