Patna High Court intervenes as Bihar finalize Ranji Trophy squad after huge drama

Bihar cricket is never too far from any controversy. Every now and then, Bihar cricket finds itself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

And it found itself in a controversial situation once again ahead of the Ranji Trophy season that will get underway this month. Bihar will open their campaign against Haryana on October 11. The squad for the Ranji Trophy opener was finalized just two days before the match in Rohtak. The squad was finalized only after a lot of drama.

It all began in August this year when the Patna High Court had appointed Justice Shailesh Kumar Sinha as the ombudsman to oversee the affairs of the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA). After his appointment, Sinha re-appointed Amit Kumar who was responsible for taking the matter to the court in the first place.

Amit Kumar had approached the court after current president Rakesh Tiwari sacked him as the BCA secretary. The BCA president also appointed a new selection panel. The Zishan-ul Yaquin-led panel selected a Bihar squad on October 7.

However, on Tuesday (October 8), the Patna High Court stayed its August 5 order. It effectively made the selection committee's decision null and void. The decision also meant that Amit Kumar was not the secretary anymore.

After all the announcements, a selection committee led by Madhusudan Tantubhai announced another squad. Meanwhile, Kumar is not at all pleased with the recent decisions and is planning to approach to take the matter to the Supreme Court.

"I respect the court's order, but after Dussehra [the Hindu festival on October 12], I will speak to my lawyer and if he agrees, I will take the matter to the Supreme Court," Kumar told ESPNcricinfo.

Relief for Bihar cricketers:

The latest decision from the court will be a big relief for Bihar cricketers who were in an unpleasant situation due to the power struggle between President Tiwari and Secretary Kumar. Just a week before the first Ranji Trophy game, two different teams were training in two different camps in Patna.

A similar incident had taken earlier this year as well. In January, two teams had reported for Bihar's Ranji game against Mumbai in Patna. Later, the Patna High Court intervened to bring the situation under control. It was the same match that saw India Under-19 batsman Vaibhav Suryavanshi make his first-class debut at the age of 12.

With the drama surrounding the squad over, Bihar will be looking to start their campaign on a good note. They are in a tough group alongside powerhouses such as Bengal, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Kerala. In the last edition of the Ranji Trophy, Bihar had finished last in Group B and will be eyeing a better performance this season.

Bihar squad for Ranji Trophy

Veer Pratap Singh (capt), Shakibul Gani (vice-capt), 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