Patna's Moin-ul-Haque stadium witnessed bizarre scenes unfolding prior to the start of the Ranji Trophy game between Bihar and Mumbai, both teams being in Elite Group B. The beginning of the first day's play saw a delay due to the arrival of two separate Bihar teams at the stadium, each prepared to face off against the Ajinkya Rahane-led Mumbai team.
The Indian Express reported that the arrival of two teams at the venue stemmed from internal conflicts within the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA), split between two factions. One team was selected by BCA President Rakesh Tiwary, and the other was chosen by Association Secretary Amit Kumar. Following an extended dispute on the field, the match was eventually able to start at 11 am IST, with Tiwary's team proceeding to play against Mumbai.
It was also learnt that both Tiwary and Kumar presented their versions of the situation. Tiwary, the head of the BCA, asserted that Secretary Kumar is under suspension, and consequently, the team selected by Kumar is ineligible to participate.
“We picked the players on merit which is the right team. You see the talent that is coming from Bihar. We have a cricketer (Sakib Hussain), who is picked in the IPL. We have a 12-year-old prodigy making his debut in the game. The other is being picked by the secretary who is suspended, so it can’t be the real team,” Tiwary was quoted as saying.
The BCA President also pointed fingers at Aditya Verma, who was the initial complainant in the 2013 spot-fixing scandal, for causing the chaos at the stadium.
“His only job is to ruin Bihar’s image. He is creating a nuisance because his son was not picked. He tries to put pressure on us, but we have never listened to him as we pick teams according to merit,” Tiwary added.
However, Kumar offered a distinctly different account of the situation, contesting Tiwary's assertions by stating,
“I won the election, and I am an official secretary of the BCA. You can’t suspend a secretary. Secondly, how can a president select a team? Have you ever seen BCCI president Roger Binny announcing the squad? You will always see the signature of Secretary Jay Shah,” he said.
Talking about the match, Mumbai, batting first, ended the first day at 235/9. Three players – opener Bhupen Lalwani, Suved Parkar, and Tanush Kotian – each scored a fifty. Veer Pratap Singh stood out as Bihar's top bowler with 4/32, while Sakibul Gani and Himanshu Singh each took two wickets. Despite being the center of attention among fans at the venue, veteran Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane did not play in the match.
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