Meghalaya Replaces Ranji XI After High Court Ruling

Meghalaya fielded a replacement XI against Nagaland in the Ranji Trophy after the Meghalaya High Court invalidated selections made by a rival faction of the state cricket association. The new side, captained by Jiwanjot Singh, replaced all 11 players who had represented Meghalaya in the previous match. The court ruled in favour of Meghalaya Cricket Association president James Sangma, upheld the suspension of secretary Rayonald Kharkamni and declared resolutions made by the opposing Apex Council faction invalid. The ruling came amid a dispute over the association’s leadership and the authority to select teams. The original squad, led by Kishan Lyngdoh, had played Meghalaya’s first three matches in the Plate League. It was unbeaten before the Nagaland fixture, with a three-run win over Manipur and first-innings leads against Sikkim and Mizoram. The replacement team included guest players Jiwanjot Singh, Srinivas Sharath and Akshay Karnewar. Players from the displaced squad arrived at the ground in Shillong on match day, despite being told the previous evening they would not be eligible to play. The match referee, Arindam Sarkar, told them the Board of Control for Cricket in...