Let Bihar play Ranji Trophy, Supreme Court orders BCCI
NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to allow Bihar play in the domestic first-class circuit from the coming season.
Cricketers from Bihar were denied the right to play Ranji Trophy after the BCCI sidelined a state that produced international cricketers like Ramesh Saxena, Saba Karim, Subroto Banerjee and Randhir Singh.
Bihar last played a Ranji game in 2003-04 but it was effectively a team from Jharkhand. MS Dhoni was the captain.
Acting on a long-standing petition filed by the Cricket Association of Bihar, a Supreme Court Bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, ordered the BCCI to re-admit Bihar into the first-class fold.
It finally gave CAB secretary Aditya Verma some joy. It was Verma’s petition that had escalated the 2013 IPL betting and fixing scandal that eventually led to the ouster of two powerful BCCI presidents — N Srinivasan and Anurag Thakur.
The Supreme Court’s order was passed “keeping in view the cause of cricket.”
“I am very happy for the entire cricket fraternity in Bihar. The state has unnecessarily suffered for the last 17-18 years. The junior boys are already playing at the national level, cricket should flourish now,” said Saba Karim, recently appointed as General Manager cricket operations of the BCCI.
Former speedster Banerjee, who moved to Vidarbha, said he was willing to return and serve Bihar cricket.
“This was long awaited. I hope now that a proper team will be formed and it will play well in Ranji matches. At the moment, I have certain commitments with the state I am currently associated with but in future if my state wants my assistance to strengthen the team and groom players, I would be readily available to serve,” said Banerjee.
His feelings was echoed by Randhir Singh. A former Bihar
My only appeal was to let the cricketers of Bihar play. Jharkhand was cleverly taking away all the attention. Thankfully, the court noticed the foul play. ADITYA VERMA, CAB secretary
Ranji player, who played two ODIS against England and West Indies, Singh said, “I am enthused that the talented Bihar boys will again get a chance to showcase their skills and win laurels for the state. Bihar has no dearth of talent.”
Former Bihar Ranji player Jitendra Patel who played in 1995-96, said, “It should have happened long time back but due to the vested interest of officials who chose JSCA over BCA during membership split, Bihar cricket suffered and the state was deprived of the playing rights in Ranji and other domestic competitions.”
Verma’s CAB is one of the two factions in Bihar cricket. But there are early signs of a compromise.
“All disputes should now be resolved. I was never pushing for control, my only appeal was to let the cricketers of Bihar play. Jharkhand was cleverly taking away all the attention. Thankfully, the court noticed the foul play,” said Verma to Hindustan Times.
Bihar Cricket Association secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad Singh promised to “work together”.
Following Thursday’s order, Bihar should get back its full membership once the new constitution, amended by the Committee of Administrators, comes into force.