Meghalaya players were told on the eve of the Ranji Trophy Plate Group match against Nagaland that they would not be allowed to play
The reversal followed a Meghalaya High Court ruling in favour of James Sangma’s faction in the Meghalaya Cricket Association dispute
Rahul Dalal said the squad had trained, attended the pre-match meeting and was later informed by match referee Arindam Sarkar about the change
Meghalaya’s preparations for their Ranji Trophy Plate Group match against Nagaland were thrown into disarray on the eve of the game after players were told they no longer represented the state association. The squad had trained as usual and attended the pre-match meeting before match referee Arindam Sarkar informed them later that they would not be allowed to play.
Rahul Dalal described the reversal in dramatic terms. “We all had gone for practice and during the pre-match meeting, the match referee (Arindam Sarkar) had told us, ‘You guys don’t worry. You will be playing as the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) has accepted you guys’. In the evening we got a call from the match referee that you guys won’t be allowed now,” Dalal said, as reported by The Indian Express.
The sudden switch came after months of infighting in the Meghalaya Cricket Association between president James Sangma and the Apex Council. The dispute had moved to court and ended with the squad that had already played three rounds being declared invalid.
Court Fight Over Squad
The legal battle triggered the team change. The Meghalaya High Court ruled in favour of Sangma’s faction and held that the team chosen by the Apex Council was invalid, even though that side had already played three rounds.
The row started when secretary Rayonald Kharkamni was suspended over allegations that complaints of sexual harassment involving players were covered up. His side challenged the move, but the High Court kept the suspension in place and ruled that the resolutions passed under him were illegal.
That ruling cleared the way for Sangma’s faction to quickly pick a fresh squad and leave out all the players selected by the Apex Council. BCCI secretary Devajit Sakia told The Indian Express, “There is a litigation going on in the Meghalaya High Court between the president’s faction and secretary (Kharkamni). Recently the court ruled it in favour of the president’s faction and they picked the squad.” Sangma did not reply to messages.
Threats And Lockout
Tensions rose sharply. Dalal said someone threatened the team manager and that he then left the team, while the captain wrote to the match referee saying the squad was being threatened.
The pressure appeared to spread beyond the dressing room. The match referee shifted to a different hotel and, by 7 pm, the players were informed that new cricketers were being registered.
Dalal recounted how the final message reached the squad. “Someone came and told us not to create ruckus. By 11 in the night, we were told that an entirely new team has been registered, and the BCCI has approved it. ‘So you guys won’t be playing anymore’,” he said.
The players still went to the ground the next day. Dalal said the dressing room was locked and the police were called. “They thought we would create a ruckus. The police were called. We were all dejected. Sangma Sir came and apologised on what had happened and explained his stand. Later the dressing room was opened and we came back,” he said.
The setback hit a team that was still in contention. “A lot of hard work has been wasted. We had a chance to win the Plate group,” Dalal said. Meghalaya were second in the group with 12 points, with a win and defeat each.
New Squad Registered
The replacement went beyond a routine reshuffle. This was the first time an association was allowed to change its professional players from other units as well.
The Apex Council members had picked Rahul Dalal and Ajay Duhan. The new squad includes Jiwanjot Singh, Srinivas Sharath and Akshay Karnewar.
The changes extended to the age-group side too. The U23 team was summoned back from Sikkim and a new team was constituted. A member of the Apex Council said they will challenge the Meghalaya High Court order in the Supreme Court.
