BCCI chief reiterates that the new hierarchy is sensitive to the problems faced by hilly states
DIMAPUR, MAY 31 : “The BCCI will live up to your expectations. Whatever your expectations are.” With these two sentences, Anurag Thakur, the new czar of Indian cricket, removed any lingering fear(s) of the air of optimism that preceded his arrival in Nagaland being proved as unfounded.
He began his address by saying that he understood the “rich culture and problems” of the hilly states. “I fully understand the problems. I am also from Himachal Pradesh, a hilly state. I have gone through the process myself,” Thakur said.
With a hornbill-feather-adorned Naga headgear on, which he refused to remove after being gifted with, the BCCI chief went on to announce that he would ensure that the facilities inside Nagaland Cricket Stadium at Sovima be up to the standard “found at all international grounds.”
Thakur said that the Sovima stadium was “as beautiful as any international ground”, and that the Nagaland Cricket Association (NCA) had actually adopted the correct procedure by “giving first priority to the ground, practice area, dressing rooms and the academy” before constructing galleries. “I look forward to hosting big games here in Dimapur soon.”
In addition to the stadium that is currently being built at Sovima, Thakur said that the BCCI would sanction construction of another cricket stadium in the foothills of Nagaland. “You decide the location where you want to have it built. Then, I can assure you that you will have another stadium very soon.”
By June next year, he announced, the Nagaland Cricket Stadium would be housing a full-fledged indoor academy. To the proposal of turning the current Nagaland Cricket Academy at Sovima into a Regional Centre for Excellence – presented by NCA president, Neiphiu Rio – Thakur assured that “you will get all our support.”
The BCCI does not want to limit its activities and programs to Nagaland or Dimapur, he added. Its plan was to built one stadium each with indoor academies in all of the NE states in the next two years, according to Thakur.
For the players in the academy, Thakur proposed a way to ensure that they get to compete with the best in the country. Under this proposal, the BCCI would organize a junior-level tournament before July 31 next, in which all the affiliated states of the region would participate.
From this tournament a team of junior-level national selectors would pick a squad of 15 players, who would then go on to represent the northeast in National Junior-level tournaments. “This way, the young players will get exposed to the best in the country.”
He also suggested the NCA officials to submit its audited accounts to the BCCI. “The day you submit the audited accounts, I can assure you that we won’t take more than 15 days to release any pending bills.”
On the Lodha recommendations, which represent as the BCCI’s greatest challenge till date, Thakur said that “many of the recommendations are not even practical in nature.” This was in response to Rio’s request that the BCCI implement the Lodha recommendations.
“I don’t mean to break your heart but we need to be realistic. Much before the Lodha recommendations, the BCCI started our process of revamp and reconstruction,” Thakur said. In all fairness, when the IPL match-fixing scandal broke out in 2012, Thakur– then a joint secretary in the BCCI – was the first from the cricket establishment to speak out against the then BCCI chief, N Srinivasan.
Neiphiu Rio, in his address, pointed out the fact that this was Thakur’s “first official state visit” since taking leadership of the BCCI spoke volume of his “sincere concern to develop the game of cricket” in Nagaland.
He reminded the BCCI chief that the NE states were struggling in cricket. “It is only the sheer love of the game that has been keeping cricket alive in the state. We request Anurag and his team to take special care of the northeast (states),” Rio said.
Rio shared that the NCA hopes to promote cricket from the grass-roots in Nagaland – in schools, colleges, universities and even among girls and women. But this could be achieved only with sufficient fund, he told Thakur.
The last time that the NCA received money from the BCCI was in 2009, an amount of Rs 50 lakhs, he reminded. “Since then, not even a single penny.” This was one of the primary reasons behind the lack of cricket infrastructure in Nagaland, Rio explained.
