High Court forms selection committees for Rajasthan cricketers

The Rajasthan High Court cleared the decks for its state cricketers to participate in all the domestic tournaments by naming selection committees for senior, junior and women's cricket, which both Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) and BCCI accepted. As per the copy of the High Court Order, national selector Roger Binny will be a part of the Ranji Trophy selection panel with assistance of five local selectors namely Vinod Mathur, Sanjay Vyas, Nazmul Hussain, Taposh Chatterjee and Vivekbhan Singh. Similarly BCCI's junior selection committee chairman and former Baroda opener Connor Williams, will be overseeing the junior selection panel with Kuldeep Mathur, Pramod Yadav and Sukhvinder Singh. The women's selection committee will be headed by BCCI nominee Rita Dey with Megha Gaur, Shabana Khan and Pratima Bharti. The BCCI counsel told the HIgh Court that they have no objection to the arrangement. Later, both the warring parties RCA and BCCI claimed moral victory by sending out separate press releases stating that the Court has accepted their respective pleas.

In a media release issued by BCCI, secretary Sanjay Patel said, "Today, the initiative of the BCCI to normalise the situation in Rajasthan on account of the impasse created by Section 25 of the Rajasthan Sports Act was recognised by the Rajasthan High Court taking control over participation of the players. "The High Court has appointed the selection committees for the senior men's team, the junior team and the women's team with BCCI national selector Roger Binny selecting the men's team assisted by 5 selectors," Patel was quoted as saying in the press release. The BCCI however didn't forget to mention that the ban on RCA continues but the board would always stand in support of the players of the state. "All the costs of the players, officials, staff, ground rent, selectors etc as suggested by the BCCI would be borne by the BCCI. This arrangement has been made for the current season 2014-15. The suspension of the membership of the RCA continues and would not stand in the way of the players' participation in BCCI tournaments." "The BCCI has thus reiterated that it has always had and will continue to have the best interests of the game of cricket and that of its players," it concluded. The RCA held a media conference which was attended by association's deputy president and key Lalit Modi aide Mahmood Abdi, secretary Sumendra Tiwary and treasurer Pawan Goel. "The office-bearers of RCA thank the Honourable High Court for giving the verdict in favour of Rajasthan players. The court has formed selection committees for senior, junior and women's cricket which will have both representatives of RCA and BCCI," the RCA press release stated.

Photograph: Juda Ngwenya/Reuters