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Let alone representing India in Tests, ODIs or T20Is, cricketers of Odisha are not even good enough to play for zonal teams. This was proved true when Subhranshu Senapati, the captain of the State senior mens team, did not get a place in the playing eleven of the East Zone team for their Duleep Trophy quarterfinal match against North East Zone.
East Zone won the four-day match by an innings and 210 runs with a day to spare in Bengaluru yesterday. But Senapati, a top-order batter and the only player in the 15-member East Zone team, was made to warm the bench throughout the match. Just imagine, if a senior cricketer like Senapati receives such apathetic treatment, what impression will it create in the minds of thousands of young and established players of the State!
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But the biggest irony is, while the players suffer humiliation, office-bearers of Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) not only enjoy power and benefits, but also resort to all sorts of dubious ways to retain the same for an indefinite period.
When the elections of OCA was last held in October 2022, Jajpur MLA and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) general secretary Pranab Prakas Das became the new president, replacing industrialist Pankaj Lochan Mohanty, while Sanjay Behera retained his post as the secretary.
In February 2025, Mohanty was elected unopposed as the president after Das tendered his resignation in December 2024, following the defeat of his party in the Assembly elections and the BJP Government coming to power in the State.
Though the next elections of OCA were due in October 2025, OCA mandarins had been avoiding it, citing flimsy reasons, including preparation for hosting of international matches at Barabati Stadium and to examine the impact of the National Sports Governance Act 2025.
When OCA, during its special general council meeting on 22 February 2026, decided to defer the elections till December 31, cricketer-turned-politician and OCA member Lalitendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra staged a walk out, protesting against the arbitrary functioning of those in power for the past 25 years and widespread corruptions in the State cricketing body.
Mohapatra, a former MLA, claimed that while many state cricket associations had already completed their elections, OCA was deliberately delaying it through various excuses. He finally went to the court as his appeal to the State Government and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for action against OCA did not yield the desired results.
Meanwhile, OCA has been put in serious trouble with the BCCI telling the Odisha High Court that the State cricket governing body must conduct elections immediately in accordance with its own by-laws, BCCI rules and Supreme Court directions.
Submitting an affidavit last week in the petition filed by Mohapatra and Kataka-based Sunrise Club, the BCCI informed the High Court that OCA can not keep its elections in abeyance for an indefinite period.
Of course, OCA has filed a counter affidavit, stating that the decision to postpone the elections had been taken collectively by its general body. It further argued that the election dispute essentially concerned the internal functioning of the association and could not be converted into a public law dispute merely because the elections had not been held.
With the High Court directing further hearing of the matter on August 27, excitement has picked up momentum among cricket followers of the state in particular as sports lovers in general.
-------------------------------------------------------------- PICS --------------------------------------------------------------
TOP: Office-bearers and members of OCA posing for camera during its apex council meeting in Cuttack on 24 August 2026.
RIGHT: File picture of Odisha senior men team captain Subhranshu Senapati.
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