Factionalism leaves Arunachal in danger of forfeiting Ranji season opener
Published: Oct 9, 2026, 4:11 AM (23 mins ago)
Arunachal Pradesh finished at the bottom of the Plate League table last season • PTI
Arunachal Pradesh are in danger of forfeiting their Ranji Trophy Plate Group opener against Nagaland, starting October 11 in Ahmedabad, because of an ongoing tussle between two warring factions at the Arunachal Pradesh Cricket Association and a case pending before the Itanagar bench of the Gauhati High Court.
On Thursday, Arunachal Pradesh could not field its Under-19 team for a (50-over) Vinoo Mankad Trophy game against Sikkim in Bhubaneswar.
At this point, there is no one in the association who can take a call on selection matters.
It is learnt that even professional players who have been contracted to represent the state this season are currently in limbo and have not been informed whether they are supposed to link up in Ahmedabad for the Ranji opener.
The association held its election in September, with Nabam Vivek elected as the president, but multiple district associations moved the Gauhati High Court alleging irregularities in the polls.
The High Court has reserved its order, and even the BCCI currently cannot form an independent selection panel, as it did in the case of Bihar, since the case is sub-judice.
"There is a stay order from the court and the BCCI cannot step in," BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told PTI. "There is no one running the state body. Until the court gives the clearance, we cannot do anything."
Vivek, the elected president, could not be contacted.
Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim are the other teams in the group with Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, who had finished bottom of the Plate table last season with five losses in five games.
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