Cuttack: Mother stages dharna on cricket pitch mid-match as her son was not selected for the team

A mother staged a dharna right in the middle of the pitch at Sunshine Field in Cuttack, Odisha on Tuesday, July 17 during a cricket match. She alleged that discrimination was meted out when it came to selection of players for the Under-19 inter-district cricket tournament, which is why her son had been removed from the team. 

A league match was halted by the mother, Rosalin Mohanty, which was organised by the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) alleging that her son Ayush was not on the cricket team owing to partiality by coach Biswa Bijayee Chandrachuda Mohapatra. She claimed that Ayush attempted suicide because he was so upset over the fact that he was not selected for the cricket team. She alleged that Mohapatra takes bribes. 

Rosalin Mohanty was not alone, her husband Dibakar Mohanty joined her. He said that even though Ayush's performance was better, players below par were selected for the team. 

A complaint was lodged with the OCA CEO Subrat Behera. The police also rushed to the spot and took the duo away, after which, the match continued.

While seeking a comment from Subrat Behera was futile, when The New Indian Express asked the coach about the allegations, he refuted them saying that Ayush could only score 16 runs in three matches.