Fourth day of the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2019-20 matches in Assam and Tripura were suspended on Thursday amidst the curfew that had been imposed in the regions following huge protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
Thursday was supposed to be the last day of the matches in Guwahati and Agartala. While Assam were hosting the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), Tripura were playing Jharkhand.
“We have been advised by the state association not to go ahead with the game. Players have been asked to remain in the hotel. The players’ safety is paramount,” BCCI GM Cricket Operations Saba Karim was quoted as saying by PTI.
After batting first, Services were bundled for 124 on the first day itself. Assam, too, had a horrible outing with the bat and managed to take a paltry lead of 38 in the first innings. The visitors batted cautiously in the second innings and posted a target of 242. At the end of 3rd day’s play, Assam were reeling at 74/5.
In the match in Agartala, the hosts had put up 289 in the first innings before bundling Jharkhand for 136 and asking them to bat again. The tourists, though, took the opportunity with both hands and contemplated for their mistakes of the earlier innings. At stumps on day 3, Jharkhand were batting at 358/5.
There has been no official announcement about whether the matches will resume in future or the points will be shared. “Whether the game will be replayed or the points will be shared. We will take a call on that later,” he added.
“We are taking a call right now, we are receiving reports from the host association which is Assam. Then we will see because curfew has been imposed, so we will take a call on that. We are monitoring the situation,” Karim was quoted by IANS.
On Wednesday, the pre-match press conference of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2019-20 game between NorthEast United and Chennaiyin FC was also cancelled as protests in Guwahati intensified against the CAB.
At a time when almost the entire North East region is witnessing huge public protests against the Bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday night, the future of the ISL match seems bleak. The match was scheduled to be played on Thursday at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati.