BCCI likely to allow a combined North Eastern team for the Ranji Trophy

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is most likely to approve the idea of fielding a combined North-Eastern team in the Ranji Trophy. The players will be picked from the States like Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Sikkim and Nagaland. The BCCI technical committee has reportedly agreed with the idea in a meeting in Kolkata last month, However, if things fall in place, it will be the second new team to be added after Bihar to earn the Ranji Trophy status.

Last year, the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) had opened the doors for the participation of North-Eastern States after having a brief meeting with them. Though the idea of including the team has been agreed in the meeting, the final decision on the matter will be made later this month.

Final approval in May?

“We are now expecting a ratification once the BCCI working committee meets later in May for a final approval,” said Naba Bhattacharjee, the convenor of Bihar and North-East Zone and coordinator of the NADP committee, according to the Sportstar. The technical committee headed by Sourav Ganguly had taken the suggestions from the North-Eastern States regarding the same.

“I had joined the meeting via video conferencing. We clarified the committee that the five States should be allowed to play as a combined unit at least for the next couple of years. We also suggested that Bihar be left out of the North-East, since it has already been granted Ranji Trophy status,” Bhattacharjee added.

Committee to take the final call soon

According to the reports in Sportstar, the sources confirmed that the idea of a combined XI has been agreed by the technical committee and approval of the working committee is awaiting on the same. “The technical committee has assessed all the possibilities and the recommendation has been forwarded to the working committee, and it is up to them to take a final call,” the source said.

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