Petition filed on behalf of 75 Rajasthan players

A writ petition on behalf of 75 players representing the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) has been filed in the Rajasthan High Court in Jaipur on Tuesday. The appeal, the latest development in the administrative standoff between the BCCI and the RCA which has resulted in Rajasthan teams being omitted from this season's domestic programme, indicated that the players were suffering "only for one reason, which is the grudge between BCCI and RCA". It stated that the players were not being allowed to participate in any of the national tournaments being organised by the BCCI, and basically asked that the players be allowed to play.

The appeal was signed by players from various teams (Under-19, Under-23, Ranji players and women cricketers). It was filed on behalf of "Nikhil Doru and others" by Jaipur-based advocate Sachin Mehta, and argued by senior advocate Sudhir Gupta. Doru, 35, is a wicketkeeper-batsman who last played for Rajasthan in 2009 Ranji Trophy.

Justice MN Bhandari, hearing the matter, issued notices to the BCCI and the RCA, seeking responses from both within a week.

Incidentally, even if Mehta claimed that he independently approached the court on behalf of the players, indirectly he was representing the RCA based on recent events. Last week, the players were told to report to the RCA office in Jaipur even as many of them were playing the Colvin Shield inter-district tournament. About 50 players, including Ranji cricketers and various age-group ones, gathered at the RCA office. It is understood that senior RCA officials addressed the gathering and read out a draft petition that they said would be filed and submitted in the court.

It is understood that the RCA officials told the players they would be appealing to the court on behalf of the players, that they should be kept out of the issue as it was between RCA and the BCCI. The draft appeal was read out by a RCA official without being handed to the players.

Although it was not made obligatory for them to sign the document, the players said they were confused. Some signed, but it is understood that four senior players - Vineet Saxena, Pankaj Singh, Dishant Yagnik and Ashok Menaria - opted out along with a few others.

Various players whom ESPNcricinfo spoke with expressed helplessness and being caught in this muddle. An unnamed player said that he was reluctant to sign because he was not "sure of the consequences". He said the players were not accustomed to legal issues. He also pointed that being the "sole bread winner" of his family, he did not want to take an unknown route, which he feared could prove fatal in the long run. "I did not think it would be wise of me to fall into this," the player said.

Another Ranji player said he decided to sign because "we are just cricketers", who could not say no. According to him, he and his team-mates did not have a choice but "stick to the RCA". He said that the RCA did not force them, but they had "no choice". "Or do we?" he asked.

That is a pertinent question. The players find themselves in a tight corner, where they have to just trust the RCA. The only other party that can help, the BCCI, has only reacted form a distance. The BCCI's ad-hoc committee, appointed to oversee the game in the disputed states, has not addressed the players. Sanjay Patel, the BCCI secretary, had said that an umbrella team comprising teams from two disputed states (Bihar and Uttarakhand) could feature in the domestic season, but he pointed that that was only an option.

Such vague responses do not help the Rajasthan players, who are anxious and verging on desperate. "We are totally stressed out mentally, because we do not know what our future will be. We don't know what to do - whether to look for another state to play for as a professional or to just stay put," a player said.

As far as on-field activities are concerned, the RCA had carried out the process of organising trials and tournaments preceding the domestic season, as is routine. Now, the players are playing the Colvin Shield, which started September 10 and will go on till September 30.

The saga dates back to Lalit Modi, the former IPL chairman who was banned by the BCCI for "committing acts of serious misconduct and indiscipline", being declared the RCA president in May. Minutes after he was declared president, the BCCI suspended the RCA for allowing a banned individual to be a part of its affairs. Later, the BCCI omitted RCA from its domestic programme for the upcoming season.