The confusion over Jammu & Kashmir Ranji Trophy team selection continued even on the eve of this season's opening game.
Three days after the Iqbal Raza Ansari faction announced the J&K team with Mithun Manhas as the skipper for their first game against Kerala scheduled at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium from Thursday, the Farooq Abdullah faction announced its team on Wednesday.
In the Abdullah group-selected team, Parvez Rasool has been retained as skipper while Manhas, until last season with Delhi, has not been picked.
However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told dna that the Ansari-led faction's team has been given the nod to field its team led by Manhas.
When quizzed Rasool of the latest developments, he said on Wednesday: "I am unaware of this. My aim right now is to focus on Thursday's match and my performance. I don't want to think about anything else that will hamper my game."
Meanwhile, ML Nehru, who is also the vice-president of BCCI, said the team chosen by the Abdullah faction is valid. "We have appointed Parvez Rasool as the captain of our team. The team which we have chosen is valid. We will send our players to the stadium for the game," said Nehru.
Nehru, however, said Manhas is not part of the squad. "We have not included him in the side. He has not been recruited by us and is not a J&K player, so we did not name him," added Nehru.
The stadium will be under heavy security before the game. "We are not going to disrupt the game or play with players' career, but we will send our players to the game and see what happens on Thursday morning," said Nehru.
According to the Ansari group, it has got the BCCI's nod for its team. However, Nehru doesn't agree with it. "If they (Ansari & Co.) have a written approval, why don't they just show it? They should give proof," said Nehru.
Meanwhile, a BCCI official said: "We have sent them (Ansari group) the copy and also told the match referee that the team selected by current JKCA selectors has been given the nod."
There are eight players common to both the lists.
Farooq Abdulla faction team: Parvez Rasool (C), Ramdayal Punia, Adil Reshi, Ian Dev Singh, Umar Nazir, Bandeep Singh, Mohd Mudasir, Paras Sharma, Abid Nabi, Shubham Khajuria, Manik Gupta, Obaid Haroon, Raman Dutta, Sajad Sofi, Manish Dogra, Amir Aziz
Imran Raza Ansari's team (which has got BCCI nod): Mithun Manhas (C), Parvez Rasool, Ramdayal Punia, Adil Reshi, Ian Dev Singh, Umar Nazir, Bandeep Singh, Mohd Mudasir, Paras Sharma, Shubham Khajuria, Amir Sofi, Rohit Sharma, Zahoor Sofi, Deepak Singh Manhas, Waseem Raza, Samad Bhat
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