New Delhi: After the Central Government’s decision to revoke Article 370 and bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, Committee of Administrators (COA) Chief, Vinod Rai on Tuesday said that Jammu and Kashmir will continue to play as Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh will be a part of J&K.
The chief also said that if Ladakh becomes a voting member of the BCCI, then the body would look into the matter and sort things out. “Jammu and Kashmir would continue to be the Ranji team. Players from Ladakh would be the part of Jammu and Kashmir. If Ladakh becomes voting member, then we will see to it and sort it out,” CoA chief Vinod Rai told ANI.
The government has bifurcated the state to create two union territories, but this revelation by the CoA chief indicates that the BCCI does not plan on creating a state body for the newest UT. The J&K Ranji team is not known to have featured a player from Ladakh till date. The upcoming Ranji Trophy season is scheduled to start in December later this year. Asked if Ladakh will become a voting member of the BCCI like Puducherry, which is also a Union Territory, Rai said that there has been no discussion on the matter as of now. “Nothing of that sort has been discussed as of now. The arrangement remains the same like it is for Chandigarh which is also a Union territory. Their players either play for Punjab or Haryana in domestic competitions,” Rai said.
On August 4, Jammu and Kashmir cricket team mentor-cum-coach Irfan Pathan had revealed that he, along with around 100 other cricketers, were asked to leave the camp at the earliest.
This had come after the Jammu and Kashmir administration issued an advisory to tourists and Amarnath Yatris to leave the Valley immediately, citing a terror threat. Speaking to ANI, Pathan had said, “Our camp has been shut down and the cricketers were sent back to their homes. The camp was from June 14 to July 14 and after a break of ten days, camp restarted from July 25. Yesterday, about 100 players were sent back to their home.” “The matches were scheduled from July 31 and will last till August 17. These matches were organised for the selection of district cricketers,” he had added.
The 34-year-old, who was appointed as the mentor-cum-coach of the Jammu and Kashmir cricket team on July 1 last year, had said that the support staff was also asked to leave the state. (Agencies)
