Fund crunch hits cricket
Itanagar, Jan 1: Cricket in Arunachal Pradesh faces an uphill task, always walking a tightrope on matters of finance.
Established in 1997, the 12-year-long wait was over for the association with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) giving it affiliation recently, but the celebrations that followed were shortlived.
The cash-strapped cricket association that has none other than PWD minister Nabam Tuki as its president, is struggling to acquire funds and get a plot of land to build a stadium of its own.
Lacking even the “bare minimum” infrastructure for cricket in the state, the Arunachal Cricket Association had somehow managed to organise the first edition of the under-17 tournament in 2007 with Rs 5 lakh assistance from chief minister Dorjee Khandu and some donations from well- wishers.
On the basis of organising the tournament held successfully, the BCCI accorded affiliation to the ACA on September 27, 2008.
After getting the BCCI affiliation, however, the Arunachal Cricket Association was unable to raise the necessary funds for the 2nd edition of the under-17 tournament in 2008. The tournament, which was slated for October 15, had to be rescheduled for November 17 onwards because of funds constraint.
According to the association, it had managed to hold the second edition, too, as a low-key affair without any sponsorship where only a few teams participated.
“The tournament was quite a success and it generated a good response, but our anxieties are far from over. We are finding it difficult to find a plot of land to build our own stadium,” Arunachal Cricket Association secretary Tado Kholi said.
“Indira Gandhi Park, the venue of the 2007 tournament, was in a bad shape bearing the brunt of government programmes and cultural shows that were organised there. We had to incur extra expenditure in sprucing up the ground, besides paying the forest department, which maintains the ground, Rs 1,000 per day for holding the tournament. Somehow, we organised the tournament with a budget of Rs 4 lakh,” Kholi said.
“But this year, even after fixing the schedule for the tournament, we were still groping in the dark because of lack of funds,” Kholi said.
Though talks are on to find a plot of land in Jully or Doimukh area, unless the formalities are cleared nothing can be said, he added.
The association’s secretary said even after knocking on the door of sports minister Atum Welly for allotment of land for a cricket ground, he only got a verbal assurance.
Source: The Telegraph
Showing posts with label BCCI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BCCI. Show all posts
Friday, January 2, 2009
Thursday, December 20, 2007
BCCI-ICL Standoff Reaches Assam
Bud Cricket Club refuses to play:
Guwahati, Dec. 19: The face-off between the BCCI and ICL on Wednesday reached Assam, disrupting a premier invitational meet in Guwahati with one of the teams, Bud Cricket Club, pulling out of the semifinal of the 16th Ankurjyoti Challenge Cricket Championship fearing disciplinary action by the Assam Cricket Association.
Bud decided not to play against Shantipur AC, which they said was considering fielding five ICL players.
To top it, Sunil Baruah, the president of the organising club Ankurjyoti, who is also the BCCI curator, resigned from his club. The curator, who was against allowing any ICL player to play, resigned citing differences with other club members.
ACA secretary Bikash Baruah had on Tuesday night stated in a press release that no ICL player was entitled to participate in any tournament conducted by any district association or its affiliated clubs. The restriction was imposed by BCCI, he added.
All the three clubs -- Ankurjyoti, Bud and Shantipur -- are affiliated to the Guwahati Sports Association, which is affiliated to the ACA. However, the tournament, though not recognised by the ACA, is quite popular among the players and several state-level players from both the sides would have squared off against each other in today's match.
Both Bikash Baruah and Sunil Baruah said they have received calls from BCCI functionaries.
Tomorrow's final between Shantipur and Gauhati Town Club, too, is under a cloud, given today's development.
Ankurjyoti general secretary Tridip Medhi described the development as unfortunate and said the Shantipur team did not contain the names of any ICL players.
"Since it is an open meet, everybody is allowed to play. We have nothing to do with the ICL or IPL? We are here for the love of cricket. Only the players will suffer," he said.
Mukut Kalita of Bud, however, said the five ICL players -- Syed Zakaria Zuffri, Preetam Das, Parvez Aziz, Sujoy Tarafdar and Abu Naschim -- were in the Shantipur team.
"We were keen to play. It would have been a good game but we got feelers from the ACA not to play. They (ICL) players are at least financially settled. But how can the players in our team take the risk?" he asked.
Posted On: The Telegraph
Another Story:
Guwahati, Dec. 19: The face-off between the BCCI and ICL on Wednesday reached Assam, disrupting a premier invitational meet in Guwahati with one of the teams, Bud Cricket Club, pulling out of the semifinal of the 16th Ankurjyoti Challenge Cricket Championship fearing disciplinary action by the Assam Cricket Association.
Bud decided not to play against Shantipur AC, which they said was considering fielding five ICL players.
To top it, Sunil Baruah, the president of the organising club Ankurjyoti, who is also the BCCI curator, resigned from his club. The curator, who was against allowing any ICL player to play, resigned citing differences with other club members.
ACA secretary Bikash Baruah had on Tuesday night stated in a press release that no ICL player was entitled to participate in any tournament conducted by any district association or its affiliated clubs. The restriction was imposed by BCCI, he added.
All the three clubs -- Ankurjyoti, Bud and Shantipur -- are affiliated to the Guwahati Sports Association, which is affiliated to the ACA. However, the tournament, though not recognised by the ACA, is quite popular among the players and several state-level players from both the sides would have squared off against each other in today's match.
Both Bikash Baruah and Sunil Baruah said they have received calls from BCCI functionaries.
Tomorrow's final between Shantipur and Gauhati Town Club, too, is under a cloud, given today's development.
Ankurjyoti general secretary Tridip Medhi described the development as unfortunate and said the Shantipur team did not contain the names of any ICL players.
"Since it is an open meet, everybody is allowed to play. We have nothing to do with the ICL or IPL? We are here for the love of cricket. Only the players will suffer," he said.
Mukut Kalita of Bud, however, said the five ICL players -- Syed Zakaria Zuffri, Preetam Das, Parvez Aziz, Sujoy Tarafdar and Abu Naschim -- were in the Shantipur team.
"We were keen to play. It would have been a good game but we got feelers from the ACA not to play. They (ICL) players are at least financially settled. But how can the players in our team take the risk?" he asked.
Posted On: The Telegraph
Another Story:
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
New Dawn for Assam Cricketers
ACA to introduce ratings like Men in Blue:
Guwahati, Dec. 17: Assam cricketers will soon be rated on the lines of the Team India players.
The apex sports body in the state hopes that the ratings will help the players by giving them more mileage in the national scene and also ease the selection of probables and teams for the state from the next season onwards.
The Assam Cricket Association officials have already discussed the proposition with a Bangalore-based private firm 5K.
The director of 5K, Rajesh Khurana, has offered to rate players in different age groups from under-15 to Ranji level on the basis of their performance in domestic as well as international levels.
The ratings will shield the players from falling victim to the ACA’s so-called “political favouritism” towards players from certain districts and the practice of “depriving” better players from some other districts.
ACA secretary Bikash Baruah said, “The ratings should help us. No player will now be able to rake up a controversy after not getting a berth in the state team as their ratings will speak for them now”.
Besides easing the pressure on players and helping players judge their own performance, the ACA hopes that the ratings will further help the players get individual sponsorship from the corporate sector.
Although India Cements has chipped in as a team sponsor for the Ranji team this year, none of the first class players have any individual sponsor for their off-season coaching and personal upkeep.
The ACA was completely bowled over by the offer made by the Bangalore firm, as it would also help the apex body sign players on contract for the under-19 and Ranji teams.
Though Khurana could not be contacted for details, sources in his office said the process has been initiated after the “ACA showed keen interest in it”.
The monetary terms offered by 5K are yet to be worked out.
The firm has been rating the Karnataka players since last year.
Though the ACA has resolved to introduce graded contracts on the lines of the national team players, for the under-19 and Ranji players from the current season onwards, the Ranji season ended without completion of even the gradation of players.
The ACA has attributed the preoccupation of BCCI statistician Tapash Roy with his hectic schedule as the reason for the delay in gradation of state cricketers this season. Roy has been asked to provide the statistics of every player to the ACA.
“If 5K does the statistician’s job for us, we will be able to execute the contract system at the earliest,” said an ACA office bearer who attended the preliminary discussion with the Bangalore firm here yesterday.
Some of the state-level players have welcomed the development, saying that they hope the new plan will not turn out to be “another ploy” to delay their proposed contracts.
Posted On: The Telegraph
Guwahati, Dec. 17: Assam cricketers will soon be rated on the lines of the Team India players.
The apex sports body in the state hopes that the ratings will help the players by giving them more mileage in the national scene and also ease the selection of probables and teams for the state from the next season onwards.
The Assam Cricket Association officials have already discussed the proposition with a Bangalore-based private firm 5K.
The director of 5K, Rajesh Khurana, has offered to rate players in different age groups from under-15 to Ranji level on the basis of their performance in domestic as well as international levels.
The ratings will shield the players from falling victim to the ACA’s so-called “political favouritism” towards players from certain districts and the practice of “depriving” better players from some other districts.
ACA secretary Bikash Baruah said, “The ratings should help us. No player will now be able to rake up a controversy after not getting a berth in the state team as their ratings will speak for them now”.
Besides easing the pressure on players and helping players judge their own performance, the ACA hopes that the ratings will further help the players get individual sponsorship from the corporate sector.
Although India Cements has chipped in as a team sponsor for the Ranji team this year, none of the first class players have any individual sponsor for their off-season coaching and personal upkeep.
The ACA was completely bowled over by the offer made by the Bangalore firm, as it would also help the apex body sign players on contract for the under-19 and Ranji teams.
Though Khurana could not be contacted for details, sources in his office said the process has been initiated after the “ACA showed keen interest in it”.
The monetary terms offered by 5K are yet to be worked out.
The firm has been rating the Karnataka players since last year.
Though the ACA has resolved to introduce graded contracts on the lines of the national team players, for the under-19 and Ranji players from the current season onwards, the Ranji season ended without completion of even the gradation of players.
The ACA has attributed the preoccupation of BCCI statistician Tapash Roy with his hectic schedule as the reason for the delay in gradation of state cricketers this season. Roy has been asked to provide the statistics of every player to the ACA.
“If 5K does the statistician’s job for us, we will be able to execute the contract system at the earliest,” said an ACA office bearer who attended the preliminary discussion with the Bangalore firm here yesterday.
Some of the state-level players have welcomed the development, saying that they hope the new plan will not turn out to be “another ploy” to delay their proposed contracts.
Posted On: The Telegraph
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
India-Pak Guwahati ODI
Guwahati pitch disappointing: Sanjay Manjrekar:
Nov 5: Former India Test cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has said the pitch at the Nehru Stadium at Guwahatai where Indian won the first of the five-match ODI series against Pakistan was not a sporting pitch.
“Guwahati fans were obviously over the moon to get an international match. But the surface that the Assam Cricket Association provided was really disappointing,’’ he wrote in a syndicated column.
“A typical Indian domestic Cricket pitch. When I was touring with the Indian team, I would often be asked, what level of first class Cricket we had back home. I would say ‘knee level’.
“Yes, you could actually go through a whole domestic season and be able to count on your fingers the balls that bounced over the knee level. Pitches like these have been the bane of Indian Cricket. If Indians have excelled at all at the international stage, it’s been, despite our pitches,’’ Manjrekar said.
Pakistan media miss Guwahati ODI:
Nov 5: A total of 46 Pakistani journalists have been given media accreditation for the ongoing India-Pakistan cricket series but none have landed in India so far, perhaps due to the state of emergency imposed in that country.
No Pakistani journalist covered the first One-day International at Guwahati on Monday, a Pakistani team official said from the Nehru Stadium.
“Thirty-two journalists from the print media, nine from the electronic arm, three cameramen and two photographers have got the accreditation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
On Pakistan’s previous tour of India in 2005, many more journalists had come to cover the series. The Pakistani team is on a 42-day tour of India -- their second to this country in a little over two years.
Source: Indo-Asian News Service
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Guwahati ODI: Mad rush for tickets
Oct. 30: A sell-out crowd of 22,000 is expected turn up at the Nehru Stadium at Guwahati on November 5, as the cricket fever surrounding the opening tie of the five-match India-Pakistan one-day international series is catching up fans across Assam.
An Assam Cricket Association official said only about a couple of thousands tickets out of the 8,000 tickets allotted for the spectators in the city are left to be sold. The rest have vanished because of the quota earmarked for all the districts, the other NE states, the BCCI and other dignitaries.
He said the demand for tickets this time around was many times more than what was seen in the last few matches played at the Nehru Stadium.
The Rs 150, Rs 450 and Rs 800 tickets are almost exhausted, while a limited number of those priced at Rs 1,500 and Rs 4,500 still remain after the first day’s of sale of tickets at the city’s Latasil playground. The remaining tickets are expected to be sold out tomorrow.
The counters set up at UCO Bank today (Oct. 30) witnessed long queues since wee hours and the number of ticket-seekers soared as the day progressed even as ACA had hiked the price of the tickets by nearly 25 per cent for this match, taking into account the increase in expenses in hosting the match.
Fans turned up at 4:30 am at the counter and thought worth to skip a night’s sleep if they get the tickets.
In the last two matches that were played here, Sachin Tendulkar opted out. But now that he is coming, fans do not want to miss a lifetime opportunity to see the maestro batting.
Source: The Assam Tribune
Image: Courtesy The Sentinel
Image: Courtesy The Sentinel
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