BCA President accused of corruption, influencing team selections, sexual harassment

Bihar Cricket is once again back in the headlines, and as always, it's for all the wrong reasons.

A detailed report published in the Indian Express has once again brought to light the level of corruption in Bihar Cricket Association -  a two-division marked by constant chopping and changing- and its president Rakesh Tiwary is at the centre of it.

Tiwary has been accused by his colleagues of constant interference in team selections, holding selection meetings at home, lobbying and aggressively pushing for the selection of sons of politicians, people in business over deserving players and sacking coaches who don't toe his line.

One of the coaches, Tarun Kumar, a former Bihar FC player, paid the price for not falling in line with Tiwary's demands of including players of his choice.

"There would be frequent requests to accommodate relatives of bureaucrats, politicians, businessmen. Such requests would regularly be from Tiwary. As I didn't agree, I was sacked. Some of the players for the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy were not even fit for club cricket," Tarun told the Indian Express.

Tiwary has refuted the claims, stating that a player's background has never been a criterion behind the selection.

He said, "We won't play sons of bureaucrats and other such influential people just because their fathers are at an advantageous position." 

Before the Vijay-Hazare Trophy, Tarun was sacked and replaced by another former Bihar player, Nikhilesh Ranjan.

However, Ranjan was relegated to the assistant coach position and was replaced by Pavan Kumar, who was previously serving as his assistant after Bihar suffered two defeats.

He was sacked 30 minutes into the fourth game following the third defeat.

"In the third match, Pavan Kumar, my assistant, was made the head coach, and I was made his assistant. About 30 minutes into the fourth match, the manager called me while I was at the ground. He asked me to go back to the hotel, pack up and leave. Since there is no secretary or joint secretary, the president is in charge," Ranjan recounted.

"In the recently concluded season, two reserve selectors were appointed apart from the three main selectors…this means the BCA was already aware that one of the three main selectors appointed would probably leave in between," he added.

However, Tiwary has alleged that the change in coaches was necessary because they were causing rifts in the team.

"In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, of the two coaches sent… there was a tussle between some of the players, and we found that a coach was involved in incitement. The Ranji Trophy coach was found guilty in a very old case by the court of the Ethics Officer. However, we still appointed him. Later, someone filed a petition in the court of the Ethics Officer, and the court held that once it has deemed someone guilty, how can he be appointed coach once again," Tiwary refuted.

Another issue that raised eyebrows is the sheer number of players who have represented Bihar in the domestic season.

Due to Covid, the BCCI had mandated state associations to pick a 20-men squad in addition to 3-4 standbys, but Bihar picked 25, including two reserves.

As many as 62 cricketers have represented Bihar across three formats in the 2021/22 season.

Former BCA joint-secretary Kumar Arvind has alleged that Tiwary used to summon selectors at his home to force them to change the team list.

"Before the Vijay Hazare tournament, Tiwary called the selectors to his home and replaced seven players. When I refused to sign, he ensured that I was out of BCA. This year for every format there was a new coach." 

However, Tiwary inserted the population card to justify the bloated list of players.

He said, "The humongous population of Bihar needs representation. I had asked the coach and captain about the many changes in the final Ranji game. I was told since we were out of contention, we tried several players," he said.

Tiwary is also facing charges of sexual molestation. This relates to the president of Secure Corporate Management- a Gurgaon-based firm- Ashutosh Bora and his sister Chitra who were arrested last year due to their involvement in an alleged 'cash for selection' scam during a BCA proposed T20 League.

Chitra, who is currently out on bail, has alleged Tiwary of sexually molesting her in a five-star hotel in Delhi.

On the FIR lodged against him at the Parliament Street police station in Delhi, Tiwary said, "They are still allegations; nothing has been proved yet… I never entertained them. I am innocent." When contacted, a senior officer of Delhi Police said: "Tiwary was booked under sections of sexual assault. No arrest has been made so far in the case. We are investigating the matter."

Bihar did not win a single game during the Ranji Trophy, finishing behind newbies like Nagaland, Sikkim, Manipur and Anurachal.