Bihar announce Ranji Trophy squad after legal drama

After Patna High Court’s intervention, Bihar finally settled on an official squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season. The selected team will travel to Rohtak soon for Bihar’s first game of the season against Haryana on October 11. 

Notably, in August, the Patna High Court had appointed Justice Shailesh Kumar Sinha as the ombudsman to oversee the affairs of the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA). The judge soon reappointed Amit Kumar, who took the matter to the court in the first place, as the new secretary. He was initially removed by current president Rakesh Tiwari, but the court then handed Kumar the opportunity to form a new selection committee. 

The new selection committee that was formed on October 7 was headed by former wicketkeeper-batter of Bihar Zishan-ul-Yaquin and he then selected the squad. 

Things changed drastically on October 8. The Patna High Court stayed its August 5 order, thus making the selection committee's decision from October 7 null and void. Kumar also lost his position as secretary and the final squad was picked by the selection committee led by Madhusudan Tantubhai.

Kumar didn’t take the decision kindly and noted that he would consider moving the Supreme Court after Dusshera. The administrator told ESPNcricinfo that he would have a chat with his lawyers and if they agree, he will take the matter forward.

“I respect the court's order, but after Dussehra, I will speak to my lawyer and if he agrees, I will take the matter to the Supreme Court,” Amit said.

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The players meanwhile were caught in a power struggle for a long time but the recent decision should give them some clarity. Even a week before the Ranji Trophy, two separate camps were preparing for the tournament, similar to what happened in January 2024. Interestingly, players who were in both camps had to send a mail to the current BCA officials confirming that they have no association with Kumar.

Meanwhile, Bihar are in Group C of the upcoming Ranji Trophy season, alongside Bengal, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

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