Arunachal Pradesh’s cricket team has forfeited its Ranji Trophy Plate Group opener against Nagaland, highlighting a deep-seated administrative crisis within the state’s cricket association, exacerbated by a High Court dispute over election irregularities.
IMAGE: There is a dispute between two warring factions in the Arunachal Pradesh cricket association and a case pending before the Itanagar bench of the Gauhati High Court. Photograph: ANI Photo
Key Points
- Arunachal Pradesh forfeited their Ranji Trophy Plate Group opener against Nagaland due to an administrative crisis and a pending High Court case.
- The state cricket association is embroiled in a dispute between two factions, leaving it without a functioning authority for team selection.
- The High Court has reserved its order regarding alleged irregularities in the September elections, preventing the BCCI from intervening.
- This forfeiture follows a similar incident where Arunachal Pradesh failed to field their Under-19 team for a Vinoo Mankad Trophy match.
Arunachal Pradesh have forfeited their Ranji Trophy Plate Group opener against Nagaland, which was scheduled to begin on Sunday in Ahmedabad, amid an administrative crisis in the state cricket association stemming from a dispute between two warring factions and a case pending before the Itanagar bench of the Gauhati High Court.
Administrative Paralysis and Court Intervention
The forfeiture comes after Arunachal Pradesh failed to field their Under-19 team for a Vinoo Mankad Trophy match against Sikkim in Bhubaneswar on Thursday, with the ongoing dispute leaving the association without a functioning authority to take decisions on team selection.
The association held its elections in September, with Nabam Vivek elected as president. However, multiple district associations subsequently approached the Gauhati High Court, alleging irregularities in the polls.
BCCI’s Hands Tied
The High Court has reserved its order in the matter, preventing the BCCI from intervening and constituting an independent selection panel, as it did in the case of Bihar.
“There is a stay order from the court and the BCCI cannot step in. There is no one running the state body. Until the court gives the clearance, we cannot do anything,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia had told PTI.
Arunachal Pradesh had finished at the bottom of the Plate Group standings last season, losing all five of their matches. Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim are the other teams in the Plate Group alongside Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.