Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, BCCI President Roger Binney, BCCI Honorary Secretary Jay Shah and others laid the foundation stone of the indoor cricket facility on May 19. (Morun photo)
Our correspondent
Shillong | March 19
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Roger Binney and Honorary Secretary Jay Shah today visited the indoor cricket facilities of six North East Zone State Cricket Associations in the presence of Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma. laid the foundation stone.
The foundation stone laying program was held at Ri Kinjai Resort in Barapani, Meghalaya and was organized by the Meghalaya Cricket Association.
The six state cricket associations under the NE zone included Arunachal Cricket Association, Manipur Cricket Association, Meghalaya Cricket Association, Mizoram Cricket Association, Nagaland Cricket Association and Sikkim Cricket Association.
Addressing the function, the BCCI President assured that BCCI would support the NE Zone Cricket Association in developing the game and infrastructure activities in the region.
He maintained that the indoor cricket facility is a huge boost to the young cricketing community.
That will be your backbone in the field of cricket, he said.
The BCCI Honorary Secretary-General announced that the first phase of the indoor cricket facility will be completed by September 30 this year, the second phase by October 30 this year and the third phase by January 2024.
Stating that the facility is primarily for promoting teams in the region, he said: “Once we provide this facility, there will be no need to import players from anywhere.”
He asked the NE Zone Cricket Association to make maximum use of the facilities.
He also promised to provide world-class cricket stadiums to the northeastern states.
The Meghalaya Chief Minister said that many northeastern states have not been a part of the core activities of the overall cricket game for a long time and have missed out on many opportunities.
He said that this particular step/action in the form of indoor cricket facilities is a strong indication of the intention of the current BCCI President and Honorary Secretary to be inclusive in nature in the development of the game of cricket.
He said this infrastructure will definitely give young people great opportunities to showcase their talents and improve their skills.
Honorary Secretary of Nagaland State Cricket Association Hunilo Aniro King will also be present at the program.