Aditya Verma to meet Union Sports Minister for CAB's affiliation

CAB Secretary Aditya Verma has been at loggerheads with the BCCI for quite some time

Kolkata, July 25 (IANS) Sore over the BCCI's denial to give affiliation to the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB), its secretary Aditya Verma said he would on Sunday meet Union Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal seeking his intervention in the matter.

"Because of BCCI's step-motherly treatment, cricketers from Bihar are being deprived which is a gross injustice. My repeated pleas to the BCCI including its president Jagmohan Dalmiya for affiliation has fallen on deaf ears. So I was left with no other option but to seek the sports minister's intervention. He has agreed to hear my grievances and hopefully he will ensure that cricketers from Bihar get the opportunity to play for the country," said Verma.

He also expressed his dismay over the BCCI allowing only 20 states out of the 29, to play in first class cricket.

"Why only 20 states get the opportunity to select their state teams for first class cricket tournaments? What is the fault of other nine states like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and others?

"States like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh have multiple teams playing in the Ranji Trophy while talented players from these nine states remain deprived. This is gross injustice," added Verma.

Verma has been at loggerheads with the BCCI for a long time and gained national prominence when a PIL filed by him barred the board’s then president N Srinivasan from contesting any election on grounds of conflict of interest.

Meanwhile, several past and present cricketers under the banner of Bihar Players Association staged a demonstration on Saturday in front of Dalmiya's residence in the city demanding affiliation by the BCCI. Holding placards of 'we want justice for Bihar cricketers' and 'start cricket in Bihar', scores of cricketers shouted slogans before they were dispersed by police.