A bizarre scene was witnessed in Patna’s Moin-ul-Haq Stadium on Friday (January 5) as two teams claiming to be the Ranji Trophy squad of Bihar turned up for the match against Mumbai.
The confusion led to a delayed start to the game after heated altercations and a scuffle between the officials of the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA), which required police intervention. The match eventually began at around 11 AM.
The team that had reached the ground first was selected by the BCA president Rakesh Tiwary and it was the side that took the field and reduced to 235/9 on the opening day. On the other hand, suspended BCA secretary Amit Kumar picked the other team.
Talking about the incident, Om Prakash Jaiswal, District representative of Bihar Cricket Association, told ANI: "BCCI gave permission to play Bihar's original team. This incident happened, it was outside the stadium. A fake team was formed by the previous secretary Amit Kumar. And they tried to create a problem but our security stopped everything. And the original team of Bihar is playing the match with Mumbai."
Speaking to ANI, BCA CEO Manish Raj said, "The ground of the stadium is up to the mark and that is why elite group matches are being held here. As for its exterior, it is already destroyed. Regarding the ground, I can say that it is a very good ground. Even the match referee appreciated it. BCCI has enabled us to build our own stadium. We are already searching for the land, if the work of the land is being completed then you will get to see BCA's own stadium. With the limited resources we have done what we could."
"People tried to create a dispute. Now the original team is playing in front of you, Bihar has shown good performance. Taking 9 wickets against a team like Mumbai on day one is a historic moment for Bihar. It's been many years since Bihar has participated in the elite group. And that too against champion Mumbai, who have been winners for many years. It was shocking that someone else was claiming to be the secretary when we already have the original one," Manish added.
According to ESPNcricinfo, suspended secretary Amit Kumar's relationship with the BCA president strained in 2022 after the former was allegedly found to have been involved with the opposing faction. As a result, Amit was suspended from the secretary position and hasn't held a post in the BCA since then.
The Ranji Trophy encounter between Bihar and Mumbai also saw Vaibhav Suryavanshi making his debut for the hosts at the age of 12.
According to the BCA, "Vaibhav has become the youngest Indian first-class debutant since 1986."
Manish talked about the youngster and said, "Seeing his performance, BCCI has already selected him for the India B team. All people's eyes are on him. His future is bright."
(With ANI Inputs)
