Arunachal Pradesh's young cricketers have been forced to sit out the ongoing Vinoo Mankad Trophy after a court-imposed stay order brought the Arunachal Cricket Association (ACA) to a complete standstill, with the state's participation in the Ranji Trophy — beginning 11 October 2026 — now hanging in serious doubt. The crisis stems from a bitter factional feud within the state body, leaving no recognised authority to field teams in national competitions.

How the Crisis Unfolded

Arunachal Pradesh was slated to open their Vinoo Mankad Trophy campaign against Sikkim in the Plate Group at the KIIT Cricket Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. The match did not happen, and the opposition is likely to be awarded full points under the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)'s playing conditions.

The dispute traces back to six district cricket bodies — Lower Siang, Upper Subansiri, Kamle, Tawang, West Siang, and Papum Pare — who alleged widespread irregularities during state executive elections and demanded fresh polls. Their legal challenge against ACA president Nabam Vivek and other office-bearers prompted the Itanagar Bench of the Gauhati High Court to impose an interim stay on the association's functioning.

What the BCCI Said

BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed the legal deadlock has also affected the state's participation in the Under-19 Women's T20 Trophy. He said the matter was heard in the first week of September but a judgment is yet to be delivered.

'There are two factions in the Arunachal Cricket Association, and they are having a litigation issue in the Guwahati High Court-Itanagar Bench. There was some stay order from the High Court about a couple of months ago on the board's functioning,' Saikia said. 'So no board is in place there for quite some time and therefore, there was no preparation to constitute a team for this Vinoo Mankad Trophy.'

Saikia added that with the matter sub-judice, the BCCI is itself constrained from intervening directly. 'Nobody is governing there because of this matter there in the court,' he said.

Ranji Trophy Participation in the Balance

Arunachal Pradesh is placed in the Plate Group of the Ranji Trophy and is scheduled to open against Nagaland at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Whether the team will take the field remains unclear. According to sources tracking the developments, multiple factions are simultaneously claiming to be the legitimate ACA, making it impossible for the BCCI to identify a single authorised representative.

'It sounds bizarre, but two or three different factions are all claiming to be the legitimate Arunachal Cricket Association while fighting each other in court. With no official body recognised to run operations, no official team can be fielded for BCCI-affiliated competitions,' a source said.

The source drew a parallel with the Bihar Cricket Association, which faced a similarly prolonged administrative impasse that kept the state out of national competitions for years before a functional body was eventually constituted.

Human Cost on Young Players

The administrative breakdown has had a direct impact on junior cricketers across men's and women's age groups. 'It is heartbreaking that our state's young cricketers have been locked out of the U-19 men's and women's national tournaments. The players spend the entire year grinding on the field just to get a shot at representing Arunachal on the national stage, and this absence has hit them hard,' a local source said.

Arunachal Pradesh was granted full BCCI membership in 2018 alongside other Northeastern states, following recommendations by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA). The crisis now risks undoing nearly a decade of grassroots cricketing development in the state.

With the court verdict still awaited and the domestic season already underway, the clock is running out for Arunachal's cricketers.