J&K players write to CoA chairman Vinod Rai, seeking help

Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association and the state players have now pressed the panic button with their participation in the Ranji Trophy growing dim every passing day. After numerous failed requests to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to order a release for their frozen account, which has around Rs. 34 crores in reserves, the players have now written a direct mail to the CoA chairman seeking immediate intervention.

However, despite the state association agreeing to it verbally, they have been reluctant to give a written submission. And now with their participation in the domestic competition at stake, the state’s senior-most player Samiullah Beigh, has mailed to CoA chairman Vinod Rai, requesting him to resolve their “genuine grievances”.

"A few days back, we as senior players had a meeting with JKCA office bearers regarding upcoming season and its preparations. It is very unfortunate to say that they claimed they are without any funds to run the show. They even said that unless BCCI gives 'letter of authority' in our favour which we have to produce in the court, we may not be able to get released the money already present in our JKCA accounts.

Ranji Trophy is just 20 days away and the state is yet to conduct their pre-season preparatory camps owing to the unavailability of funds. Iqbal Shah, the secretary of JKCA had mentioned the plight previously. He had stated, “The association needs at least around 6-7 crore annually to run cricket in the state. I want to have a Ranji Trophy camp now but I can’t as I don’t have the money to pay a daily allowance to my players.”