What's in a name or in the date of establishment? Ask JSCA – After Jharkhand state was carved out of Bihar that BCCI's controlling authorities decided to accord the name of Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) to the newly created Jharkhand state cricket authorities, without even changing the original name.
(Left) Photo of ticket for the third Test between India and Australia in Ranchi. (Right) JSCA logo with its ‘date of founding’
With Ranchi hosting its first-ever Test match beginning Thursday, a seemingly innocuous fact has generated a lively and somewhat incredulous debate. And that is whether India's independence came first or that of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA).
If one goes by the printed JSCA logo on the spectator's entry ticket then the latter would seem to be true. The logo on the ticket (see picture) says "JSCA, established in 1935".
Incredible isn't it?
A State which was created in 2000 along with Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand, has a cricket association that predates the country's independence. Well, this may seem strange to the local spectators but not for those who have been treating and controlling the Board of Control for Cricket in India like their own family business.
After Jharkhand state was carved out of Bihar that BCCI's controlling authorities decided to accord the name of Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) to the newly created Jharkhand state cricket authorities, without even changing the original name.
The original BCA officials kept protesting for their legitimate right but no one paid heed to their pleas. Finally, in BCCI's Special General Meeting (SGM) in 2004 the late Jagmohan Dalmiya put every logic to rest by formally recognising the newly-formed JSCA taking the membership from the erstwhile BCA.
"This was a time when Bombay Cricket Association's name was also changed to Mumbai Cricket Association. It was explained in the SGM that because Bombay's name was allowed to change to Mumbai in BCCI records, so BCA's name has also been changed to JSCA," said a senior BCCI official who was present during that 2004 SGM.
Dalmiya's only explanation regarding this bizarre move was that "even Bihar cricket's headquarters has always been in Jamshedpur (Keenan Stadium)".
Just like any other cricket fan across the country, even Supreme Court's former Chief Justice TS Thakur was surprised to hear this during one of the ongoing hearings in the BCCI case.
Dalmiya's confidence was duly repaid by JSCA president Amitabh Choudhary for the next 15 years. It was only recently that Choudhary's rule in JSCA diminished, following the Justice Lodha panel stricture that disallows a person to continue in an administrative post of BCCI or its state unit for more than nine years. Choudhary relinquished the post of JSCA president but not before putting his dummy Kuldip Singh at the helm.
Remember, Choudhary is the same person who refused to give up despite SC orders of July 18. 2016. The former top police officer has been repaying his debt by continuously engaging in a courtroom battle against Justice Lodha reforms.
