Ranji Trophy 2024-25 – Bihar finalizes squad but only after Patna High Court intervention

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Ranji Trophy 2024-25 – Bihar finalizes squad but only after Patna High Court intervention

After going back and forth, there is finally an official Bihar team for the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season. A 20-member squad will travel to Rohtak for Bihar’s opening match against Haryana from October 11, but was selected only after much drama of the official kind.

On August 5 this year, the Patna High Court appointed Justice Shailesh Kumar Sinha as the advocate for the affairs of the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA). Sinha then reappointed Amit Kumar – who had taken the matter to court in the first place after being removed from the post by current president Rakesh Tiwari – as BCA secretary and appointed a new selection committee. This committee, headed by Zishan-ul Yaquin, chose the party on October 7.

But on Tuesday, October 8, the Patna High Court set aside its August 5 order, thus nullifying the selection committee’s decision from October 7. It also said that Kumar was no longer the secretary, and the ombudsman was also out. The party, selected by a committee headed by Madhusudan Tantubhai, the announcement came after these events.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Kumar said, “I respect the court order, but after Dussehra [the Hindu festival on October 12]I will talk to my lawyer and if he agrees, I will refer this matter to the Supreme Court.”

The latest decision has brought respite to the cricketers of Bihar, who are caught in a power struggle between former BCA secretary Kumar and current BCA president Tiwari. Even with one week left for the Ranji Trophy, two separate training camps were held in Patna, similar to the incident in January 2024, when the two teams arrived for the match between Bihar and Mumbai at the Moin-ul-Haq Stadium in Patna. . At that time, it required the intervention of the Patna High Court to put a legal stamp on one of the parties.

Zishan, the chairman of the pre-selected committee that announced the canceled party, said, “I respect the court’s decision. I was heading the selection committee only after the Lokpal. [ombudsman] he had given his command. I am happy that the problem of Bihar players is gone and they are finally going to Rohtak. I also like that there are many players from the team that I chose are in this team. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m not affiliated with any party; my aim is to make Bihar cricket better.”

Meanwhile, players from both teams had to inform the BCA via email that they had no contact with Kumar and were not part of the camp organized by him. ESPNcricinfo has seen a copy of this email.

Bihar is part of a tough Group C for the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season, alongside Bengal, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. They finished last in Group B in 2023-24 with four defeats and three draws from seven games.

Bihar team for Ranji Trophy

Veer Pratap Singh (captain), Shakibul Gani (vice-captain), Bipin Sourabh, Akash Raj, Shraman Nigrodh (wk), Babul Kumar, Ayush Loharuka (wk), Raghwendra Pratap Singh, Mayank Choudhary, Himanshu Singh, Sachin Kumar Singh, Abhijeet Saket, Anuj Raj, Shakib Hussain, Shabbir Khan, Rishav Raj, Harsh Vikram Singh, Jitin Kumar Yadav, Yashpal Yadav, Rishi Raj

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