Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018-19: Jharkhand and Bihar angry at BCCI for quarter-finals fixture

Jharkhand and Bihar are unhappy with the quarter-finals fixtures of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy and have reached out to the BCCI about this matter. With the group stage of the event complete, the schedule for the quarter-finals has been released. Mumbai will take on Bihar, Delhi will play Haryana, Maharashtra will clash against Jharkhand, while Andhra Pradesh will meet Hyderabad.

According to the BCCI’s scheduling of the tournament, the top 5 teams from Elite A and B combined, two teams from Elite C and one team from the Plate division qualify for the knockouts, which is decided by the number of points the teams have at the end of the group stage.

However, Jharkhand, despite bagging the highest number of points in their group, have been handed a game against Maharashtra. They feel they should have ideally been playing the team which qualified for the knockout stage from the Plate Group, in this case, Bihar.

Unprofessional from BCCI: Jharkhand State Cricket Association

Speaking to Hindustan Times, a Jharkhand State Cricket Association official lashed out at the BCCI, saying, “Having topped the teams in all the Elite Groups, it was obvious that we would be the number 1 team and would have played team number 8 which would top the Plate division. It is pretty disappointing to learn that though the BCCI has grouped two groups of the Elite division together to decide on which 5 would proceed to the quarter-finals, they don’t seem to be sharing this principle for the purpose of deciding the placement of the teams. This is unprofessional.”

Similarly, the Bihar Cricket Association feels that they should have had a game against Hyderabad. But now, they are pitted against heavyweights Mumbai, who will be reinforced by the presence of Rohit Sharma.

“What is happening in BCCI office how do we know? If this system is like this we need a good maths teacher in the team. Bihar team has 30 points and is second after the group stage. Jharkhand is 32 and first. We were thinking we will play Hyderabad. We are surprised we will play Mumbai. The BCCI did not inform us that this is how they will do,” the JSCA official added.

However, Saba Karim, GM Cricket Operations said that both teams are welcome to come and hold talks with the BCCI in regards to the scheduling of the quarter-finals. “I am surprised that questions have been raised on the quarter-finals fixture. There is nothing new in the planning and the same old system has been followed when it comes to pitting the teams in the quarter-finals. If any team has an issue, they are more than welcome to come and clarify with us,” he mentioned.

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