Nagaland Cricket Association (NCA) is all set to host the first North East Cricket Development Committee (NECDC) Senior Men’s tournament from March 29 to April 3, at Nagaland Cricket Stadium, Sovima and Sovima Cricket Ground.
This was informed by honorary secretary NCA, Hyunilo Anilo Khing, at a press conference on Sunday at Nagaland Cricket Stadium.
Khing maintained that NECDC is comprised of six North East States Cricket Associations, namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim, which will be taking part in the first ever NECDC Senior Men’s tournament.
He clarified that though geographically, North East was constituted of eight states, he noted that as per the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Assam and Tripura were placed under East Zones, while the rest of six North Eastern States comprised the North East Zone.
In regards to the fixtures and mode of the tournament, he informed that the six teams were divided to two groups and the tournament will be a One Day Innings (ODI) series (50 Overs), played in a Round Robin. He also expressed excitement that the NECDC was expecting officials from BCCI and IPL for the final match.
Khing also maintained that no guest players will be allowed to participate in the tournament and informed that a total of 17 local players (2 for standby) were selected through merit list. He also nullified the allegations that there was malpractice or quota system in the system of selection.
He also expressed hope that the tournament organised under the banner of NECDC and sanctioned by the BCCI, would go a long way in promoting the game in the region and also provide a new ray of hope for the budding cricketers in the state.
The tournament will be telecasted live on the YouTube account, Cricheroes.
Speaking on the formation of NECDC on 2015 under the convenorship of Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, he said that the main reason for its formation was to fight for full membership of BCCI.
On the affiliation and becoming a member of the BCCI through the formation of NECDC, Khing acknowledged the chief minister Neiphiu Rio for his tireless effort and Justice Lodha Committee, the commission which enabled for one state one vote in the BCCI.
He also informed that beginning from 2018, full membership to all the remaining six North Eastern states received full membership to BCCI, since then, the NCA has been actively taking part in all BCCI tournaments.
He disclosed that the one major achievement of the NECDC would be sanction and approval for indoor cricket practice facilities to be constructed by BCCI in all the six NE States. He informed that the construction was yet to be started in the state and expressed hope that it will commence soon and it would be over by 2024.
On the initiatives taken by the NCA in the state, he cited some of the major achievements of the NCA in the field of Cricket.
With the motto of taking the game to the people, he informed that the NCA have constructed concrete pitches in all districts and sub-divisions and also providing cricketing kits to schools, clubs and district associations. He informed that the NCA had so far constructed about 53 concrete practice pitches in and around the state. He stated that the NCA women players were doing fantastic job and said that there were three women state teams under women category.
Khing further appealed all citizens to come and witness the game and cheer for the state team.
Group A: Arunachal, Manipur, Meghalaya
Group B: Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim
Fixture
Mar
29 Nagaland Vs Mizoram
Arunachal Vs Meghalaya
Mar
30 Manipur Vs Arunachal
Mizoram Vs Sikkim
Mar
31 Manipur Vs Meghalaya
Nagaland Vs Sikkim