Guwahati: This is a scene right out of a comedy of errors textbook, where two teams from Bihar turned up for their match against Mumbai at Ranji Trophy Moin-ul-Haq Stadium in Patna.
The confusion subsequently led to a delayed start to the game after heated exchanges and a scuffle between the officials of the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA), which required intervention from the local police.
The match eventually could begin by around noon at 1 pm.
The team that had reached the ground first was picked by the BCA president Rakesh Tiwary, and it was the side that eventually played the game on Friday, while Secretary Amit Kumar chose the other team.
Not a single cricketer was part of both the squad.
Speaking to the Indian Express, Tiwary said his side had been picked on merit before revealing that the secretary had been suspended.
He said: “We have picked the team on merit and that is the right team. You see the talent that is coming from Bihar. We have a cricketer (Sakib Hussain), who is picked in the IPL. We have a 12-year-old prodigy making his debut in the game. The other is being picked by the secretary who is suspended, so it can’t be the real team.”
In response, Kumar, having countered the suspension claim, questioned whether it is the BCCI president who selects the Indian team, reminding that a board release always has the signature of Secretary Jay Shah at the end.
“First things first: I won the election, and I am an official secretary of the BCA. You can’t suspend a secretary. Secondly, how can a president select a team? Have you ever seen BCCI president Roger Binny announcing the squad? You will always see the signature of Secretary Jay Shah,” he said.
BCA later released a statement on Friday blaming suspended secretary Amit for the chaos, which included picking a fake team and attacking an official of the board.
“There was a life-threatening attack on BCA’s OSD Manoj Kumar by those involved in the fake team. The miscreants have been identified and action will be taken against them,” the statement read.