Patna: The Bihar Cricket Association has sparked controversy through its selection of players for the Vijay Hazare trophy that starts in Gujarat from Wednesday. The 15-man squad includes an MLA's son who acted as selector for the Bihar Under-23 team.

The Bihar senior cricket team, which will participate in the Vijay Hazare trophy after 18 years, is headed by former India spinner Pragyan Ojha. Also in the team is Ashish Sinha, son of BJP MLA Arun Kumar Sinha. Ashish was a selector for the Bihar U-23 team in June this year.

"For the first time in cricket history someone who acted as selector has been selected as player," alleged Aditya Verma, secretary of the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) which the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) does not recognise.

Ashish, a practising lawyer, played one Ranji Trophy match for Jharkhand against Rajasthan in 2010, scoring 16 and 12 in two innings.

"Yes, I was made the selector but I have now quit the post," Ashish told PTI. "Also, I was selector for a brief period and there was no official appointment letter. I became a selector on request of BCA."

Asked if his selection is due to the influence of his father, Ashish said: "Let me tell you that when I played Ranji Trophy for Jharkhand, my father was even then an MLA. So how does it matter? I am still playing active club cricket. Obviously with Bihar coming back into domestic cricket, I wanted to play for the senior team. We should all be proud that Bihar will again play Ranji Trophy rather than try to malign players."

Five players in the Bihar team have played for Jharkhand. Vice-captain Keshav Kumar was in the Jharkhand Ranji squad. Similarly, Babul Kumar, Samar Qadri, Rohit Raj will be playing for Bihar after taking no-objection certificates from Jharkhand.

"What is the logic of having a state team when we have to select players from other states?" Verma asked. "The very purpose of the state's struggle for granting Bihar players to play at Ranji and other BCCI-organised trophies stands defeated."

A young Patna-based cricketer, who played for the Jharkhand in the U-23 and U-19 formats but could not find place in the Bihar team, said: "There is no transparency in the selection. Some players have been selected who are not into regular cricket. Also, the players from Jharkhand who have found place have not performed well in domestic tournaments."

The BCA denied any wrongdoing. "As per BCCI rules, we can maximum hire three guest players in our senior team and on this basis we have taken Pragyan Ojha in our team," said Ravi Shankar Prasad Singh, general secretary, BCA. "In the first week of September, there was a final selection trial at two venues. Head coach Subroto Banerjee, a former India player, and other Ranji players were at the trials. Ashish was selected for his experience. "