Arunachal Pradesh lost their Ranji Trophy opener after the state’s cricket body crisis

Arunachal Pradesh has forfeited its Ranji Trophy Plate Group opener against Nagaland, scheduled to begin in Ahmedabad on Sunday, amid an administrative crisis in the state cricket association stemming from a dispute between two warring factions and a case pending before the Itanagar bench of the Gauhati High Court.

The forfeiture comes after Arunachal Pradesh failed to field its Under-19 squad for the Vinoo Mankad Trophy match against Sikkim in Bhubaneswar on Thursday, with the ongoing dispute leaving the association without the functional authority to take decisions on team selection.

The association held its elections in September, Nabam Vivek was elected president. However, several district associations subsequently approached the Gauhati High Court, alleging irregularities in the polls.

The High Court reserved its decision on the matter, preventing the BCCI from intervening and setting up an independent selection committee, as it had done in the case of Bihar.

“The court has issued a stay order and BCCI cannot interfere. There is no one running the state body. Until the court gives permission, we cannot do anything,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told PTI.

Arunachal Pradesh finished bottom of the Plate Group table last season, losing all five of their matches.

Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim are the other teams in the Plate group alongside Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

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