BCCI organises independent trials to avert further Arunachal forfeitures

SRINAGAR, October 14, 2026 — The Board of Control for Cricket in India has organised selection trials to prevent Arunachal Pradesh from forfeiting further matches this season. The move was announced after Arunachal failed to fulfil fixtures earlier in the domestic campaign.

Arunachal Pradesh forfeited its Ranji Trophy opener against Nagaland and did not field teams in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy and the Under-19 women’s T20 Trophy. Those absences occurred amid a legal dispute between two factions of the Arunachal Cricket Association that is pending before the Gauhati High Court’s Itanagar Bench. Appeals from cricketers followed the Ranji Trophy forfeiture, prompting requests for BCCI intervention.

BCCI Apex Council member M. Khairul Jamal Majumdar will convene the selection process for Arunachal. An independent three-member panel will oversee the trials to ensure impartiality. The panel comprises former Assam players Satya Gopal Chakraborty, Jayanta Chowdhury and Deep Bora.

The committee has been tasked with naming squads for multiple age groups and competitions. Specifically, the panel will pick teams for the Ranji Trophy, the Col. C.K. Nayudu Trophy, the senior women’s T20 Trophy and the Vijay Merchant Trophy. Selections are intended to cover both men’s and women’s sides where applicable.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told The Hindu: "The BCCI will do everything, keeping the players’ interest in mind." He added: "We decided to step in and ensure that the players don’t suffer."

To prevent local interference, the BCCI has advertised the trials in newspapers, inviting players to participate. "There will be no outside interference. The three-member committee will independently conduct the trials and pick the squads based on merit," Saikia said.

The Board’s intervention follows appeals from cricketers after the Ranji Trophy forfeiture and is aimed at enabling Arunachal to fulfil its remaining fixtures this season. The upcoming trials will be conducted across age groups and at the senior level to populate the required tournament squads.