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BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), on Monday, invited Indian football captain Sunil Chetri to NCA (National Cricket Academy) Bengaluru, to talk to and motivate players from North-East at the Academy. The football captain talked to players and teams from North East.

Football is more popular than other sports In the North East. Players like Baichung Bhutia and Sunil Chetri who are the flag bearers of football are inspirations for the youth of the region. No cricket player from the North East has represented the country at the national level so far. 

The BCCI, as part of its outreach to the North East region last month, organized a camp for the cricket players from North East to upskill their skills and for getting finer at the game,  at NCA. “This initiative by BCCI will give young and budding talents equal opportunity to hone their skills and represent India across formats. NE has enormous potential in sports and the boards will keep no stone unturned to ensure that, we are able to tap the best talent for the country”, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in his tweet.

Jay Shah had also paid a visit to the North Eastern States of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim At the beginning of the year in January. Shah had met the Chief Ministers of the states and assured the northeast states to enhance capacity building, cricketing infrastructure, technical staff and medical support. As per reports BCCI through its outreach program in the North East is planning to expand the pool of fast bowlers and spinners for the U-19 world cup.

Doors for the representation of teams from the North East were opened in 2017 when Six teams on the recommendation of the Lodha Committee were added to the domestic cricket; Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim made their debut in the domestic cricket in 2017. Assam and Tripura were added to the domestic circuit much earlier in 1948 and 1985 respectively.  In the current format of Ranji Trophy, the domestic teams from North East of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh are accommodated in plate teams.

Besides domestic cricket, BCCI conducted IPL also has opened the door of opportunities for North East players. Riyan Parag who plays for Assam in Domestic cricket got inducted into ‘Rajasthan Royals’ in 2019 and has played more than thirty matches for the franchise. Nagaland player, Kense Khrievitso has been signed as a reserve player for Mumbai Indians in 2021. Abu Nechim from Assam has played for RCB.

In recent years many non-traditional regions like Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir have produced quality players who have played at the national level. For the northeast, things are turning for the better and it is gearing up to contribute in the National side.