Patna: The crowd at Moin-Ul-Haq Stadium here was expected to be loud and boisterous amid a Ranji trophy cricket match Friday, the first such cricketing event held there after a gap of 27 years, but the noises one could hear were all for the wrong reasons.
At the outset, the opening session was delayed as two sets of teams representing the home side reached the stadium to face Mumbai, the most successful side in the history of India’s oldest domestic first class cricket tournament.
Hardly had the dust settled that the poor condition of the stadium came under spotlight, with social media awash with videos of the creaking and damaged sections of the facility.
Such is the state of affairs that former India cricketer Venkatesh Prasad posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the condition was “unacceptable”. Ranji Trophy is the premiere domestic competition in India and it’s time all stakeholders realise its value, he added.
ThePrint reached the stadium at Patna’s Rajendra Nagar to catch a glimpse of the match Saturday as well as the condition of the stadium with a capacity to seat 25,000.
Turned out that a crowd of cricket lovers had descended at the stadium but there was no proper place for anyone to sit. People were standing in the spectators’ gallery enjoying the ongoing match in the balmy winter sun, but were furious with the government over the plight of Bihar’s only cricket stadium, which has hosted international matches in the past.
“A Ranji match is being held in Bihar after many years. You can guess by looking at the crowd present that people here are crazy about cricket, but seeing the condition of this stadium, you can understand how insensitive the government here is…,” Abhishek Ranjan, who came from Begusarai to Patna to watch the match, told ThePrint.
“The Bihar government should pay attention to all these things. There is no dearth of talent, but due to lack of resources at the right time, the talent gets lost.”
Wild overgrowth, neglected stands
At the upper gallery, wild plants had sprouted out from the cracks and overgrown at the railings and stairs. Some of the big bushes were hastily trimmed down to bring some semblance of order but their exposed roots kept bothering the spectators present there.
Shards of broken glass bottles lay unattended at many places, none bothered about the dangers they posed to the visitors. The old, non-functional scoreboard added to the gloom inside the neglected stadium.
ThePrint reached Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) president Rakesh Kumar Tiwary for comment on the condition of the stadium, but to no avail. His deputy Dilip Singh said: “Moin-ul-Haq stadium is the property of the Bihar government. The BCA has nothing to do with it. Our responsibility is only for the ground. The match is being held on the ground. We only take the ground on lease. Maintenance and development are not for us to oversee.”
Singh added, “We requested the Bihar government many times to hand over the stadium to the BCA. Due to this, a case was filed in the Patna High Court, but till now it has not been handed over to the BCA. Many international matches have also been held here before. There is enough space, if the government pays attention, then it can become better again.”
ThePrint also reached Jitendra Kumar Rai, minister for art, culture & youth in the Bihar government, for comment but the call was attended by his personal assistant, who said the minister was busy. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Incidentally, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced Saturday that the state government has decided to form a sports department to “boost infrastructure and support athletes in their endeavour to win medals”.
Chaos before match started
The Ranji match Saturday had an awkward start as a dispute arose over which team would square off with the visitors. Tiwary and BCA secretary Amit Kumar had announced separate teams, a result of the ongoing feud within the state cricket association.
The team selected by the BCA president was then allowed to step into the ground. Briefing the media about the controversy, BCA spokesperson Sanjeev Kumar Mishra said: “BCA president Rakesh Kumar Tiwary’s team is the real team of Bihar. Amit Kumar has nothing to do with BCA. He has already been suspended by BCA. The team he chose makes no sense.”
Later, Amit Kumar told the media that the secretary has the right to choose the team, and not the president. Citing the example of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), he said that after the team is selected, the final seal of approval is given by the BCCI secretary.
Back at the stadium, cricket lover Shivani Singh, a resident of Kankarbagh, Patna, was visibly frustrated on seeing the stadium slipping into disrepair.
“I go to watch every cricket match held in Bengaluru. When I came home on leave, I came to know that a Ranji match is being held after decades. So, I came with my family, but the situation here… I am going back without watching the match. I am very unhappy. The government should pay attention to sports. It is so unfortunate that there is not even a stadium in Bihar where matches can be held,” said Singh, a software engineer.
“At one time, cricket was thriving in Bihar. But today due to infighting among the association, lack of infrastructure and lack of will of the government, the talent here is being destroyed,” Shivani said, on her way out of the stadium.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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