Patna: Patna witnessed a bizarre moment on Friday during the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match when two teams from Bihar arrived at Moinul-Haq stadium for the game against Mumbai, each claiming to represent the state. Notably, Patna was hosting a Ranji match for the first time in the history of the tournament.
Leaving umpires and other match officials perplexed, the two teams reached the venue just before the toss with both claiming they were the official ones representing Bihar. One of the Bihar teams was picked by the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) President Rakesh Kumar Tiwary, while the second one was chosen by former BCA secretary Amit Kumar. The ground saw heated moments between the two teams while Mumbai witnessed the bizarre moment while waiting for its real opponent to take the field.
As things went out of control, the match officials had to call the police to deal with the situation. The police officials marched the team chosen by Amit Kumar out of the ground. While this was happening, unknown people carried out a deadly attack on Manoj Kumar, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) of BCA. Manoj suffered head injuries after someone hurled a stone at him.
Amid the hullabaloo, the police managed to pacify the situation and allow the game to begin. Shortly after the incident, BCA released a statement stating that Amit Kumar's team was 'fake' and he had illegally set it up while going against the Association rules. "The suspended secretary Amit Kumar announced a fake team for the home match against Mumbai on January 5, 2024, which is illegal," the statement read.
"Amit Kumar is working illegally, an FIR has been registered against him and his associates in Patliputra police station for the same under the name and logo of BCA. He has misled many cricketers and people associated with cricket, by calling himself the Secretary," the statement added.
The BCA also warned it will take strict action against those supporting and helping Kumar in misleading people. "Strict action will be taken against any cricketer or person associated with cricket who is involved or found involved in the anti-BCA activities being carried out by former sacked secretary Amit Kumar," the statement said.
Coming to the match, opting to field, Bihar bowlers proved the captain's decision right after reducing the 41-time champions Mumbai to 6 for 137. Mumbai, however, managed to post 251 in their first innings after some key partnerships in the late order. Bihar was 66 for 3 at the time of this report on Saturday.
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