BCCI lends helping hand to Northeast states ahead of Ranji season

The northeast states, playing in their first Ranji Trophy, will receive financial and insfrastructural support from the BCCI.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will support the northeast states with resources before they start their debut Ranji Trophy season.

As the northeast states gear up for their Ranji Trophy debut, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will help the state associations with resources and infrastructural support.

In a meeting with the northeast states, the New Area Development Programme (NADP) task-force committee decided that it will allot coaches and support staff, across categories, to the northeast states. While the state units have been asked to suggest their choice of coaches, the Board will 'bear the expenses' for all the coaching staff.

"We are extremely happy that the BCCI has helped us. Without their support, it would not have been possible to participate in the tournament," NADP northeast committee convenor and secretary of Meghalaya Cricket Association, Naba Bhattacharjee, told  Sportstar .

Although the National Cricket Academy (NCA) physios and other support staff will be deployed to help out the northeast units, the associations will have to submit their choice of coaches in the next few days, based on which the Board will finalise the deals.

"The coaches will be directly paid by the Board and once we give our suggestions, the process will be taken forward," said an official from one of the state units, who attended the meeting.

It is also believed that the teams might opt for professional players. As a rule, each team can appoint three outstation players and this time, the Board could settle their payments as well. However, members of the state units insist that it still needs a bit of deliberation.

The member units have also been asked to submit a final budget for the season, based on which the Board will soon prepare a roadmap. "We don't have any funds, so the Board has asked us to give an exact figure required to develop infrastructure and other facilities," the official said.

While three states have their own home grounds, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh have no home grounds and based on the request of the two associations, the task-force committee is considering hosting their matches in either Assam or West Bengal. With the season set to begin later this month, the northeast states will hope that things fall in place at the earliest.