Bihar ultimately decided on an official squad for the forthcoming Ranji Trophy 2024–25 season following the intervention of the Patna High Court. The chosen squad will shortly depart for Rohtak in preparation for Bihar’s opening match of the season on October 11 against Haryana.
Notably, Justice Shailesh Kumar Sinha was named by the Patna High Court in August as the ombudsman to supervise the Bihar Cricket Association’s (BCA) operations. Amit Kumar, the one who brought the case before the court, was promptly named again as the new secretary by the judge. Current president Rakesh Tiwari first had him dismissed, but the court gave Kumar permission to appoint a new selection committee.
The squad was chosen by the newly established selection committee, which was led by former Bihar wicketkeeper-batter Zishan-ul-Yaquin, on October 7.
On October 8, everything drastically altered. The August 5 ruling of the Patna High Court was delayed, rendering the October 7 decision of the selection committee void. The final team was chosen by the Madhusudan Tantubhai-led selection committee, and Kumar also lost his job as secretary.
Kumar expressed his disapproval of the ruling and said he would think about petitioning the Supreme Court following Dusshera. The administrator informed that he will speak with his solicitors and move further with the matter if they concur.
“I will talk to my lawyer after Dussehra, and if he agrees, I will take the matter to the Supreme Court,” Amit stated, respecting the court’s decision.
The current ruling should provide some clarity for the players, who had been embroiled in a power battle for some time. Just as in January 2024, two different camps were getting ready for the Ranji Trophy even a week ahead of time. It’s interesting to note that players from both groups had to confirm in writing to the current BCA leadership that they had no affiliation with Kumar.
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Bihar, meanwhile, is grouped with Bengal, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh for the 2018 Ranji Trophy season.
Bihar Squad for Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season:
Veer Pratap Singh (c), Shakibul Gani (vc), Bipin Sourabh, Akash Raj, Shraman Nigrodh (wk), Babul Kumar, Ayush Loharuka (wk), Raghwendra Pratap Singh, Mayank Choudhary, Himanshu Singh, Sachin Kumar Singh, Abhijeet Saket, Anuj Raj, Shakib Hussain, Shabbir Khan, Rishav Raj, Harsh Vikram Singh, Jitin Kumar Yadav, Yashpal Yadav, Rishi Raj
India
