Bihar needs to rise above petty politics
FRESH START Banished from mainstream cricket for 15 years, state needs to put cricket on top of agenda MUMBAI:
No doubt, the 21st century has been the best time to be an Indian cricketer. It is the period when cricketers in the country have been financially more secure than they ever have been.
However, for Bihar, the 21st century has been the worst period in its cricketing history. The state was bifurcated with Jharkhand coming into existence on November 15, 2000. Three years later, the new state replaced Bihar in Ranji Trophy. With that, cricket’s development got asphyxiated in the parent state.
A number of budding and senior cricketers from Bihar suddenly found themselves at the dead end. Some left the game while others continued to play it with no future. A few lucky ones like Ishan Kishan, who represents Jharkhand and led India at the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2016 besides appearing in the IPL, tasted success as well, but such cases remained far and few between.
“Bihar has suffered great losses. Many senior players retired because they had no future. It’s been a depressive phase,” said Amikar Dayal, a Biharborn Ranji cricketer who represented Tripura in 25 first-class matches.
“Bihar has a rich history in cricket. We always had a competitive bunch of cricketers. In our times, we produced some very talented players like Avinash Kumar and Saba Karim (who went on to represent Bengal). Whenever our state played teams like Bombay and Delhi in Ranji Trophy, they gave us respect. Everything came crashing down after we were stopped from taking part in domestic tournaments in 2003,” Dayal recalled.
POLITICAL CONFLICTS
Once Jharkhand was separated, cricket in Bihar also found itself involved in the kind of power tussle seen in the state’s politics. It started with former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav forming the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) in Patna in 2001 in response to the creation of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) the same year. Much to Yadav’s dismay, though, the then BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya gave recognition to the JCA while withdrawing BCA’s affiliation.
It began a period of conflict between Bihar cricket officials and the BCCI. While the BCA officials demanded affiliation stating they were the parent body, Bihar Cricket Association was formed in 1935.
THE START
Born:
November 14, 1967, Patna
M 1 It participated in Ranji from 1936-37 to 2003-04 before being replaced by Jharkhand
Run AVG 100/50 CT/ST 15 15 0/0 1/0
34 362 15.73 0/1 27/3 Karim, who played first-class cricket for Bengal, is a colossal figure in Bihar cricket having represented India in Tests and ODIs. Later, an eye injury while keeping to Anil Kumble in an Asia Cup match in 2000 brought a premature end to his career. Born: September 20 1944, Delhi Died: August 16, 2011, Jamshedpur M Run AVG HS 1 25 12.50 16
TEST ODIs TEST THE GOLDEN YEARS
100/50 0/0
Saxena, who played a solitary Test, was one of the finest batsmen of his generation. He moved to Bihar in 1966-87 after appearing for Delhi. For Bihar, he scored 3,710 runs at 47.56 besides playing a stellar role in the team’s dream run to the Ranji Trophy final in 1975-76 where the state lost to Bombay.
M 1
6 49 5 40.40 3/30 Banerjee made his Test debut against Australia in Sydney in 1992, and claimed the wickets of Mark Waugh, Mark Taylor and Geoff Marsh but never got to play for the national team again.
M 7 Played final in 1975-76 (lost to Bombay by 10 wickets)
TEST ODIs TEST ODIs BEST RESULT
Run Wkt B.Avg BB 3 3 15.66 3/47
Run 100/50 Wkt BB 135 0/0 3 2/84
25 269 0/0 7
Son of former chief minister of Bihar, Bhagwat Jha Azad, Kirti Azad played for
Delhi but remains one of best known faces from Bihar. He was a member of the Indian team that won the ODI World Cup in England in 1983.
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