The General Manager for cricket operations, Saba Karim had advocated to include Bihar in the premium domestic competition Ranji Trophy, for the upcoming season.
Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) organises Ranji Trophy, the most renowned domestic tournament every year. It is a platform for cricketers to showcase their talent and make a strong case for themselves. Moreover, the players get pushed for the national team on the basis of performances.
Moreover, the level of cricket played in the tournament makes it one of the most challenging leagues around the world.
However, the Sourav Ganguly-led Technical Committed has raised certain reservations regarding the proposal.
Earlier, Vidarbha clinched the 84th edition of the first-class competition. They lift their maiden title after routing Delhi by nine wickets.
A problem of Plenty:
An official member poised questions that inclusion of Bihar may lead to north-eastern states moving to court for their inclusion.
“Saba came armed with a letter from the CoA which had suggestions that technical committee okays Bihar’s inclusion in Ranji Trophy. He said that as per Supreme Court’s directive, we cannot deny Bihar from playing Ranji Trophy,” A SENIOR OFFICIAL TOLD PTI.
“However, another key member then asked Saba that what’s the guarantee that if we allow Bihar to play Ranji Trophy, Nagaland, Manipur, and Meghalaya won’t move court. As of now, BCCI didn’t adopt the new constitution incorporating Lodha Reforms. So Bihar is still an associate member of the NE states,” an official added.
Meanwhile, the technical committee earlier mentioned Bihar has to play junior level cricket for the qualification procedure.
In addition to, they said Bihar has to follow general norms, and they are no exceptions.
However, Karim tried to convince the committee by stating that Bihar’s case is slightly different from the northeastern states, where cricket is not a primary sport and lacks infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Saba Karim and MS Dhoni made their debut for Bihar before 2004, when BCCI suspended the association.
The presence of two-state bodies had raised confusions, as to which is the regulator for cricket in Bihar. The BCCI has tried everything to sort out the issue but to no avail.
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