The pitch in Ahmedabad sat empty on Sunday. Arunachal Pradesh never showed up for their Ranji Trophy Plate Group opener against Nagaland. It wasn't a tactical choice or a weather delay; it was a total administrative blackout. The state simply forfeited the match, leaving Nagaland with a walkover win in a contest that never began.
This isn't about bad batting or a weak bowling attack. It’s about a broken government. Two rival factions within the Arunachal Pradesh Cricket Association are locked in a legal war over who actually runs the show. Elections held in September saw Nabam Vivek elected president, but district associations challenged the process, alleging irregularities. The case is now stuck in the Gauhati High Court’s Itanagar bench, with a stay order hanging over the entire operation.
The legal limbo has paralyzed the state. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed to PTI that the board is powerless to intervene. “There is a stay order from the court and the BCCI cannot step in. There is no one running the state body. Until the court gives the clearance, we cannot do anything,” Saikia said. This is a stark contrast to scenarios like Bihar, where the BCCI stepped in to form an independent panel. Here, there is no one to appoint.
The damage has already spread beyond the senior team. On Thursday, Arunachal failed to field an Under-19 side for a Vinoo Mankad Trophy match against Sikkim in Bhubaneswar. Why? Because there is no functioning authority to select the squad. The crisis has turned domestic cricket into a ghost town for the state.
It’s a harsh turn for a team that already struggled last season, finishing at the bottom of the Plate Group after losing all five matches. The group includes Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Sikkim. With leadership in disarray, Arunachal’s ability to even field a team in upcoming fixtures remains deeply uncertain. The next test will be their subsequent Plate Group fixture, but right now, the biggest hurdle isn’t the opposition—it’s the courtroom.