IPL big platform for small town players: cricketer Rishi Dhawan

Abhyudaya Kotnala

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 22

The Indian Premier League (IPL) as created a big platform for small town boys to show their talent. The cricketers of hilly regions have a great opportunity to nurture their career without moving to any another state. This was stated by the Kings’ XI Punjab player and captain of Himachal Pradesh team Rishi Dhawan.

The all-rounder medium pacer expressed his heart out while talking to The Tribune on his tour to Dehradun for the All India Gold Cup Cricket Tournament at Ranger’s Ground. Rishi said that earlier players had to struggle hard to get selected for the Indian national team. The situation was even tougher for the players of the hilly state where associations are not so strong and players rarely get a chance to play Ranji matches. But now IPL had completely changed the scenario. Team franchises are selecting players from interior areas even on the basis of players’ performance in local tournaments. The standard of cricket in a state like Himachal Pradesh has also improved a lot and even many players of Uttarakhand have also come in limelight due to the IPL. And now with this situation young players can completely focus on their game and performance without worrying about their future.

Emphatic win for Himachal over Air India

Himachal Pradesh defeated Air India by two wickets in the opening match played of the All-India Gold Cup Cricket Tournament at the Rangers College ground in Dehradun on Friday.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Air India set a huge target of 282 runs. Kunj Sharma scored 103 runs for his team. In reply, Himachal had a bad start as the team lost quick wickets. But Rishi Dhawan shifted the balance in favour of his team by scoring 77 runs in just 44 balls and sealed victory for Himachal.

In another match played at Abhimanyu Cricket Academy, Uttarakhand defeated Central Secretariat team by three wickets. Batting first, Central Secretariat got all out in just 110 runs. In reply, Uttarakhand had a bad start and the team lost quick wickets after which Abhinav and Vijay played sensibly and scored 22 and 20 runs, respectively, and registered victory for their team.

Earlier, Sports Minister Dinesh Aggawal inaugurated the tournament at Rangers’ College ground.

Dehradun girls, boys basketball champions

Derhadun: The boys’ and girls’ teams of Dehradun lifted the overall trophy of the 10th Sub-Junior Under-14 State Basketball Championship at The Doon School here on Friday.

In the final match in the boys’ category, the Dehradun district team defeated the Mussoorie team 31-17. Aryan scored the highest 12 points for Dehradun. In the final match in the girls’ category played on Thursday, Dehradun beat Mussoorie by a huge margin of 31-5 points. — TNS