Saurashtra Under-23 cricketers have found themselves in troubled waters after a sizeable amount of liquor was found in the cargo on a plane while returning from Chandigarh. The team was returning from Chandigarh after playing their match in the ongoing Col. C K Nayudu Trophy. The incident happened on January 25 when Saurashtra U23 team was returning to Rajkot. Meanwhile, the airport authorities in Chandigarh seized liquor bottles from the players before taking off.
Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) has also confirmed the development releasing an official statement. The association further termed the incident as intolerable while also stating that a proper disciplinary action will be taken on the concerned players after investigation is done.
"There has been an alleged incident at Chandigarh that was brought to notice of Saurashtra Cricket Association. The alleged incident is unfortunate and intolerable. Ethics/Disciplinary Committee & Apex Council of Saurashtra Cricket Association to make in-depth examine of the incident and shall take proper disciplinary action," SCA said in a statement.
What happened in the match?
Before the controversy though, Saurashtra players did well to beat the hosts Chandigarh in the multi-day match. Batting first, the visitors scored 285 runs in the first innings in 58.4 overs thanks to P Rana's 128-run knock even as Amit Shukla of Chandigarh returned with six wickets. In response, the home team was skittled for 117 runs only as Rana was in the thick of the things picking up two wickets. But the wrecker-in-chief was Gajjar Sammar picking up a five-wicket haul.
Following on, Chandigarh's young cricketers gave a good account of themselves posting 233 runs on the board recovering from a precarious position of 144/8 at one stage. But Saurashtra chased down the paltry target of 66 runs with nine wickets in hand.
