The Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) has opened up about the fiasco of two teams arriving at the stadium to play the 2023 Ranji Trophy match against Mumbai. District representative Om Prakash Jaiswal said the former secretary tried to create the problem and formed a fake team.
One of the strangest incidents in the Ranji Trophy took place before the ongoing match between Bihar and Mumbai. Two teams from Bihar made their appearance on the ground. A lot of commotion was generated but in the end the official team participated.
One team to play was named by the BCA, while the other team was announced by former secretary Amit Kumar. He had some issues with BCA over the last two years and reportedly formed a fake take and also attacked the referee outside the stadium.
Om Prakash Jaiswal confirmed that Amit Kumar formed a fake team and was elated that the BCCI gave permission to play with the original team. He also revealed that the other team tried to create security problems. Speaking to ANI, he explained:
“The BCCI gave permission to play against the original Bihar team. This incident occurred, it was outside the stadium. Former secretary Amit Kumar formed a fake team. And they tried to create a problem but our security stopped everything. And the original Bihar team will play the match against Mumbai.”
BCA CEO Manish Raj also spoke about the two teams turning up for the game and said that people are trying to create a dispute. He highlighted how the original Bihar team is performing well against the powerful Mumbai team. He explained:
“People tried to create a dispute. Now that the original team is playing in front of you, Bihar has shown a good performance. Taking 9 wickets against a team like Mumbai on the first day is a historic moment for Bihar. It has been many years since Bihar participated in the elite group. And that too against champion Mumbai, who has been winning for many years. “It was shocking that someone else claimed to be the secretary when we already have the original.”
Ranji Trophy 2024: Stadium ground is up to par – BCA CEO Manish Raj
In addition to the saga of the two teams, a video also appeared on the Internet showing the poor state of the ground. In the clip that went viral on the internet, there was garbage on the outskirts of Patna’s Moin-ul-Haq stadium.
BCA CEO Manish Raj also spoke about the stadium and said that the exterior of the stadium is destroyed but the ground is very good. He also revealed that the umpires appreciated them for the ground. He explained:
“The stadium terrain is up to par and that is why the elite group stage matches are held here. As for its exterior, it is already destroyed. Regarding the terrain, I can say that it is a very good terrain. Even the match referee appreciated it. BCCI has allowed us to build our own stadium. We are already looking for the land, if the land work is finished, you will be able to see the BCA stadium. With limited resources we have done what we could.”
Coming into the match between Bihar and Mumbai, the hosts won the toss and put up a great performance with the ball. They outscored their opponents by just 251 runs, but with the bat they did not have a great outing. At stumps on Day 2, Bihar were 89/6.