No team from Arunachal for Vinoo Mankad Trophy

Representative image: Arunachal Pradesh will not field a team in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

When the Vinoo Mankad Trophy gets underway on Thursday, young cricketers from Arunachal Pradesh will miss out on the national U-19 tournament.

The side is scheduled to face Sikkim in the Plate Group, at the KIIT Cricket Stadium in Bhubaneswar, but Sportstar understands that the Arunachal Pradesh Association (ACA) has not fielded a team this season due to an ongoing legal case.

Confirming the development, Devajit Saikia, the BCCI secretary, told Sportstar: “We have seen that Arunachal Pradesh is not fielding teams in some of the age-group tournaments. From what we have gathered, there is a court case going on in the Gauhati High Court-Itanagar Bench. There is also an interim stay on the functioning of the Arunachal Cricket Association,” Saikia said.

According to Arunachal News Live, six district associations in the State had alleged violations of rules and procedures in the conduct of the Arunachal Cricket Association (ACA) State executive elections and demanded a re-election.

The associations which disputed the election of president Nabam Vivek and other post holders are Lower Siang District Cricket Association, Upper Subansiri District Cricket Association, Kamle District Cricket Association, Tawang District Cricket Association, West Siang District Cricket Association, Papum Pare District Cricket Association.

The matter was heard in the first week of September. Till date, the judgment has not come and the interim order is in operation.

“Because of the internal bickerings between the two factions, there is litigation and a stay order regarding the functioning of the association. As a result, nobody could take up the matter of team selection or preparation, and ultimately the Arunachal team will not be playing in the age-group tournament,” Saikia said.

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This will lead to Arunachal forfeiting the match. As per BCCI’s playing conditions relating to the ‘BCCI Match Referee awarding a match’, section 16.2.1.2 states that, “A match shall be lost by a side which in the opinion of the BCCI Match Referee refuses to play and the BCCI Match Referee shall award the match to the other side.”

The situation could also have a bearing on Arunachal Pradesh’s participation in the Ranji Trophy, which begins on October 11. Arunachal features in the Plate Group, and is supposed to begin its campaign against Nagaland at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

“I have an apprehension about what will happen to the Arunachal Pradesh team when the Ranji Trophy begins on October 11. I cannot say at this moment what will happen in the first match and whether they will be able to field a team or not,” Saikia said.

In Ranji Trophy, there are past instances of teams forfeiting their matches. Services forfeited its 2009-10 Ranji Trophy Plate Division match against Jammu & Kashmir in Srinagar, as it refused to travel to Srinagar, citing security concerns. The BCCI treated it as a forfeit and subsequently banned Services from the remainder of that Ranji season.

The BCCI has, in the past, appointed committees to oversee cricketing operations in state units such as Bihar, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir following court directions. However, in the case of Arunachal, things are different.

“As far as the BCCI is concerned, it cannot step into the matter right now because the matter is sub judice and, till now, the court has not appointed any administrator. The BCCI on its own will not step into the matter when the litigation is going on in the court, and until the matter is resolved,” Saikia said.

This publication spoke to several cricketers from the State, who were clearly shattered with the way things have panned out. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a senior player from the State said, “If we don’t get to play this season, we will have to seriously weigh our options and decide whether we would like to continue with the sport.”

In 2018, Arunachal Pradesh, along with the other states of Northeast, were drafted into the BCCI-affiliated tournaments after the then Committee of Administrators, appointed by the Supreme Court, granted them full membership. However, since its entry into mainstream cricket, Arunachal Pradesh has found itself marred in several controversies, including charges of corruption against office-bearers.