Patna, April 6: Abdul Bari Siddiqui, leader of Opposition in Assembly and convener of Bihar Cricket Association (BCA), has termed the recent statements of chief minister Nitish Kumar on the link between cricket and politicians as immature and not in the larger interest for promotion of sports in the state.

After Team India’s victory in the ICC World Cup final, Nitish had said in Bihar, there is no official cricket association and had also sugges- ted that politicians should not be part of cricket associations.

Reacting to Nitish’s recent statements, Siddiqui said Bihar Cricket Association is the recognised body of all cricket associations in Bihar and it has been designated as associate association affiliated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Siddiqui also said Nitish does not know A, B or C of cricket and statements like these shows his immaturity.

Targeting the chief minister, Siddiqui said: “The chief minister’s statement that politicians should remain away from cricket bodies is a one-sided statement made with an attempt to target Lalu Prasad, the BCA president. If Nitish is worthy of his statement, why did not he write letters to DDCA president Arun Jaitley, Gujarat Cricket Association Narendra Modi, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association president Anurag Thakur who are senior leaders of the BJP and hold the posts of the head of various cricket associations.”

The RJD leader also said cricket bodies in various states have two important roles, to coach young talents, organise cricket activities and to promote sports.

Siddiqui said though Nitish claims to have ushered a turnaround in the state’s development during the past five years, sports nosedived as the state lagged behind in major sporting activities.

During Lalu Prasad’s regime, the state government had organised various sports activities, including the World Cup cricket match between Zimbabwe and Kenya in 1996. Moreover, the Asian School Football Tournament was also held in Patna.

About BCA, Siddiqui said in the BCCI diary, BCA has been listed as an associate association with Lalu Prasad as the president and Siddiqui as BCA convener.

BCA member and president of Bihar Players’ Association Mritunjay Tiwari said: “Based on the performance of Under-19 tournaments, seven players from Bihar have been selected for training under Sandeep Patil, Lalchand Rajput and Karshan Garvi.”