Chandigarh to compete in domestic cricket 47 years after seeking BCCI recognition
Veteran cricket official Sushil Kapoor has welcomed the BCCIs decision to grant recognition to the Union Territory Cricket Association to compete in domestic cricket, 47 years after making the request. This means that the local talent will now get to represent Chandigarh and not Punjab or Haryana.
Chandigarh have finally gained a slot to compete in domestic cricket. This recognition granted to the UTCA was welcomed by the city’s cricket fraternity with an eye on the future.
Kapoor was in the forefront of the demand for Chandigarh’s separate entity, but his efforts were stalled. Although the UTCA became a registered body, support from the BCCI still eluded them. So, for Kapoor, this news meant “respect” for the game’s fans and promoters in and around Chandigarh.
“I had attended the Board’s AGM at Calcutta in 1972 and sought permission for players from Chandigarh to play for Haryana since the city was not getting any recognition. Even though there were objections from Punjab the BCCI allowed Chandigarh-based players to represent the newly-found Haryana team,” Kapoor said, reported Sportstar.
He now serves as the official spokesperson for Punjab Cricket Association. Many players who have their base in Chandigarh were forced to represent Punjab or Haryana earlier. Some of them, like Kapil Dev, Yograj Singh,Yuvraj Singh, Ashok Malhotra, Chetan Sharma, VRV Singh, Dinesh Mongia and Siddharth Kaul, went onto play for India.
“The city had a good infrastructure (stadium at Sector 16) and we had some talented players who were forced to either play for Haryana or Punjab. I am glad the local talent will serve Chandigarh now,” Kapoor added.
The decision was welcomed by the city’s cricketing fraternity, and former players as well.
Vivek Atray, the senior vice-president of the UTCA, claimed it was a reward for the hard work put in by many.
“A very welcome development for cricket in this region. Chandigarh should have got affiliation long ago. It is a matter of satisfaction that UTCA had finally received affiliation with BCCI and the boys and girls of Chandigarh will be able to play national-level tournaments in all age groups. With the merger of CCA Punjab into UTCA things became much easier and the process of affiliation was finalised by BCCI,” Atray said.
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