Kamal Ghorui
New Delhi: Having served as the head of the ad-hoc committee to run the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) till last September, BCCI president Mithun Manhas said that the cricket infrastructure in the state will grow faster once the state association is approved by the government. “Everything is ready with forming the state association. They have gone to the government for approval. Once they get it done, BCCI funds will be unlocked to improve the infrastructure in the state. Right now, they play at the Harbux Stadium in Srinagar and the College Ground in Jammu. Work towards building a proper cricket stadium with proper facilities can start immediately,” Manhas told TOI on Wednesday.
Manhas recalled the process of setting up facilities to help J&K cricket rise since he took charge in 2021. “I must thank Jay Shah, who was the BCCI secretary then, for giving us a free hand and funds to organise the facilities even though we were an ad-hoc committee. We made red-soil pitches in two stadiums so that the team was ready to play on all kinds of pitches across India. We used to start our talent hunt programme from April every year and went to every district. The teams were sent to play off-season tournaments in different parts of the country. Now, the plan is to invite other state teams to play invitational tournaments in J&K,” Manhas said. While 41-year-old Paras Dogra, coming in as a guest player, led from the front as captain in the last two seasons, Manhas said that the endeavour was never to rely heavily on outstation professional players. “Dogra’s experience helped these young batters learn to bat for longer periods. But he is the only guest player in the team. We need to give time to the young players to groom into leadership roles,” the former Delhi captain claimed. Manhas also highlighted that there was a conscious effort to develop more qualified coaches in the region. “When I took charge, there was only one NCA Level 1 coach in the state. Now we have close to 40 Level 2 coaches. That has helped in grooming talent in pockets of the state,” he mentioned.
