Arunachal Pradesh forfeit their Ranji Trophy opener as the state association awaits a court ruling

Arunachal Pradesh did not take the field for their Ranji Trophy opener against Nagaland, with the state's cricket association frozen by a case the courts have yet to decide

Arunachal Pradesh forfeited their Ranji Trophy Plate Group opener against Nagaland, which was due to begin on 11 October at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The fixture passed without a ball bowled.

No team could be picked because the Arunachal Cricket Association has no functioning leadership. Elections in September returned Nabam Vivek as president, and district associations went to the Itanagar bench of the Gauhati High Court alleging irregularities in the poll.

The court has reserved its order, and until it rules the BCCI says it has no way into the state's affairs. "There is a stay order from the court and the BCCI cannot step in. There is no one running the state body," board secretary Devajit Saikia said.

A state body with no one in charge

The September elections were meant to settle who runs cricket in Arunachal Pradesh. Instead, district associations challenged the result in court and asked for fresh polls.

The Itanagar bench has heard the matter and reserved its order, with no date attached to a judgment. The association has been unable to select sides, run camps or send players to fixtures in the meantime.

"There is no functionary in the Arunachal Cricket Association," Saikia said.

Why the BCCI has not stepped in

The board has taken over a stalled state association before, appointing an independent selection panel in Bihar when that body could not function.

That route is closed while the Arunachal case is live. "Until the court gives the clearance, we cannot do anything," Saikia said.

Under BCCI playing conditions, a side that does not take the field forfeits the match and its opponent takes the points. Nagaland had travelled to Ahmedabad for a fixture that never started.

Age-group cricket has gone the same way

The Ranji opener was not the first casualty. Arunachal's Under-19 side did not appear for its Vinoo Mankad Trophy match against Sikkim in Bhubaneswar, with nobody in place to make selection decisions.

The state then forfeited its CK Nayudu Trophy opener against Meghalaya on 12 October.

Three sides across three age groups have therefore begun the season without playing, and the senior team's record for 2026-27 remains blank.

Players left carrying the cost

Arunachal's cricketers have been left without matches and without the income attached to them. Several have considered writing to the BCCI directly, Sportstar reported, and have weighed a press briefing because the cost of travelling to meet officials is beyond them.

"We just want the BCCI to intervene and allow us to play," former Under-23 captain Dado Tachung told Sportstar.

Former state captain Kamsha Yangfo told the same outlet that a lost season would set back a number of careers. The all-rounder Mibom Mosu said cricket is his only source of income, and the left-arm seamer Yorjum Sera said players had borrowed money to cover coaching and practice costs.

A season still waiting on a ruling

Round one ran its course elsewhere. Mumbai beat Chandigarh by an innings and 155 runs at the Wankhede, Uttar Pradesh beat Bihar by an innings and 267 runs in Rajgir, and Hyderabad saw off Tripura by an innings and 40 runs, while the Plate Group opened a match short.

The domestic season's second round begins on 18 October, and whether Arunachal Pradesh take any part in it rests on a judgment nobody can time.

The Plate Group — Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim — carries promotion to the Elite division for the side that wins it. A season of forfeits would take the state out of that race before it has begun.

Should that vacuum hold, the state's participation in the rest of the season is in doubt.

Until the Itanagar bench delivers its order, Arunachal Pradesh's place in the 2026-27 domestic season stays unresolved.

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