Meghalaya field an entirely new Ranji Trophy squad against Nagaland after a High Court order

Meghalaya began their Ranji Trophy Plate Group match against Nagaland with an entirely new squad after the state High Court ruled the previous selection invalid

Every player who had appeared for Meghalaya earlier in this season's Plate Group was left out of the side that walked out against Nagaland at the Meghalaya Cricket Association Cricket Ground in Shillong, a day after the Meghalaya High Court ruled in favour of association president James PK Sangma.

The court upheld Sangma's suspension of secretary Rayonald Kharkamni and declared the resolutions and team selections made under the rival Apex Council invalid. A fresh squad was registered with the BCCI late on the eve of the match, and the players who had prepared for it were told by telephone that they would not be playing.

The replacement side, captained by former Punjab opener Jiwanjot Singh, was bowled out for 144 in its first innings and trails by 269 runs with Nagaland eight wickets down in their second innings on day three.

What the court decided

Kharkamni had been suspended after complaints that he failed to act on sexual harassment allegations raised by players in the state's Under-23 women's team. He challenged the suspension in court and lost.

The ruling reached beyond the suspension itself. It invalidated the resolutions passed under the Apex Council's authority, and with them the council's selection of both the senior men's squad and the Under-23 side that had already travelled to Sikkim.

The Apex Council is preparing to challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court, according to reports in the Indian media.

A squad replaced overnight

The original group, captained by Kishan Lyngdoh and coached by Nitesh Sharma, was unbeaten in the Plate Group, having beaten Manipur by three runs and taken first-innings points against Sikkim and Mizoram.

It trained at the ground until the eve of the match and met match referee Arindam Sarkar expecting to play once the squad list was accepted. At around 11pm the players were told a different team had been registered.

"We even practised right until match eve," one member of the original group told ESPNcricinfo.

Locked out of the dressing room

The dropped players went to the ground the next morning anyway, and found the dressing room locked. Police were called to the venue, and Sangma apologised before the room was opened.

"All our kits were ready in the dressing room, but we were asked to vacate because we were the illegal team," one of them told ESPNcricinfo.

Members of the group also said the team manager left the squad hotel after receiving threats, and that the captain raised the matter with match officials. Some of those left out were told they could try out for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Three guest players in a new eleven

Jiwanjot Singh came in alongside two other guest professionals, Srinivas Sharath and Akshay Karnewar, all three of whom played first-class cricket last season.

Of the rest of the new intake, only Akash Choudhary had played a red-ball match this season, in the Duleep Trophy.

The side had no formal preparation together beyond light fielding and catching practice before the first morning, and was dismissed inside 47 overs.

Calls for the BCCI to step in

The Hynniewtrep Youths' Council's sports cell condemned the association, its chairman Franky Kharumnuid saying in a statement that "the MCA office bearers are custodians of the game, not owners of the game of cricket in Meghalaya."

"Cricket should be decided on the field, not in boardrooms," Kharumnuid said, urging the BCCI to take cognisance of the dispute and protect the interests of the state's cricketers.

Members of the original squad said they had received no communication from the board explaining their status or what happens next.

Scorecard: Meghalaya 144 (46.4 ov); Nagaland 254 (69.5 ov) and 159 for 8 (58 ov) — Nagaland lead by 269 runs on day three at the Meghalaya Cricket Association Cricket Ground.

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