Uttarakhand fit case for BCCI affiliation: Barthwal

Sandeep Rawat

Tribune News Service

Haridwar, October 28

The key to Uttarakhand achieving the coveted affiliation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is to hold regular premier domestic tournaments such as Ranji, Duleep, Irani and Under-19 cricket tournaments. BCCI president Anurag Thakur had recently given this advice to Uttarakhand.

Veteran cricketer and Cricket Association of Haridwar general secretary Inder Mohan Barthwal says they have sent a list of major tournaments and matches Uttarakhand has hosted in the past few decades to the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, so as to apprise the cricketing body about the capability of the hill state in organising major tournaments and matches.

Anurag, during a visit to the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, last week, had said if Uttarakhand were to get affiliation from the BCCI, it needs to host major tournaments and enhance its cricketing infrastructure.

Barthwal said Uttarakhand had already hosted major premier tournaments such as the Women Rani Jhansi Cricket Tournament way back in 1974, which was one of the most well organised and successful women tournaments during that time.

Also, women matches between the teams of Uttar Pradesh and Railways were held in 2008, the North Zone Inter-University Tournament in 2012, prestigious Rohinton Baria All-India Inter-University, Under-16 Uttar Pradesh vs Madhya Pradesh match in 2014 and the Central Zone Women’s U-19 match in 2015, to name a few.

“We have the capability to host premier domestic tournaments and even Indian Premier League matches. The prestigious CK Nayudu U-23 four-day match between Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand will be played at the Abhimany Academy ground in Dehradun from October 31 to November 3.

The Cricket Association of Uttarakhand should ensure the best facilities for this match, as the BCCI will be closely observing it. This will also give a boost to the separate affiliation case,” remarked Barthwal, a former BHEL team captain who has held multiple posts in the Cricket Association.

He said the two new stadiums being constructed at a cost of Rs 100 crore at Raipur in Dehradun and Haldwani were in the final phase. These two state-of-the-art stadiums would be a major plus point for Uttarakhand getting the BCCI affiliation.

“Recently, the Ranchi stadium in Jharkhand hosted the India-New Zealand One Day international, so did the Dharamshala stadium in Himachal Pradesh. I don’t think Uttarakhand lags anywhere in comparison to these two states. We just need to take up out demand effectively with the BCCI. The Cricket Association of Uttarakhand should also contact prominent players of the Uttarakhand origin, who are playing for other state teams, to impress upon the BCCI the need to grant Uttarakhand affiliation,” said Barthwal.

Notably, Team India ODI T-20 captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who plays for Jharkhand, has his ancestral roots in Almora; U-19 World Cup winning captain Unmukt Chand hails from Kumaon, IPL star Manish Pandey belongs to the state and young prodigy Rishabh Pant was born in Pithoragarh and now lives in Roorkee. But as Uttarakhand is still regarded the 12th zone of Uttar Pradesh, cricket players from the hill state have to vie with Uttar Pradesh players to make to the Uttar Pradesh Ranji and other teams.