Shillong, Jul 23: The Meghalaya Cricket Association has retained the leading four guest-professional players for the upcoming 2021-22 domestic season organised by the BCCI.
Yesterday, MCA Honorary Secretary Gideon Kharkongor announced that Punit Bisht, Sanjay Yadav and Ravi Teja will continue to represent Meghalaya in the senior men’s tournaments and Saee Purandare in the women’s senior competitions.
Kharkongor also listed the coaches, physios and trainers for each of the Meghalaya teams. All the names were recommended by the MCA’s Technical Committee and approved by the Apex Council.
The domestic season was badly disrupted last season, with the Ranji Trophy cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Only two men’s tournaments were held – Vijay Hazare Trophy (one-day) and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20) – and one women’s – Senior One Day Trophy.
This season, however, the BCCI hopes to return to a more normal calendar, with the Ranji Trophy, Women’s Senior T20 Trophy as well as U-23, U-19 and U-16 competitions.
2021-22 is scheduled to begin in September with the Women’s Senior One Day Trophy.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Purandare is typically the rock of the Meghalaya team’s batting but even she found it tough going when the state team were promoted to the Elite Group in 2020-21. She’ll be hoping to get back to scoring plenty of runs for Meghalaya this time around.
Bisht, meanwhile, has been with Meghalaya ever since the state played its first season of domestic cricket in 2018-19. Last year saw him strike the second-highest score in the history of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with an innings of 146 not out. Teja had reasonable performances, though he didn’t go beyond 44 with the bat in either format, while Yadav was Meghalaya’s most consistent bowler over both tournaments, taking 11 wickets (five in the T20s, six in the one-dayers).
Meghalaya support staff:
Senior men’s team – Gautam Shome (coach), Surojit Biswas (physio), Himmat Singh (trainer)
Senior women’s team – Saranya RS (coach), Wandashisha Dkhar (physio), Priyanka Mondol (trainer)
U-23 men’s team – Dheeraj Jadhav (coach), Emida-o Dhar (physio), Vikash Singh Chauhan (trainer)
U-23 women’s team – Saranya RS (coach), Mary Balahun Sawkmie (physio), Neeta Khumbang (trainer)
U-19 boys’ team – SP Yadav (coach), Franklin Sohtun (physio), Tejas R Vala (trainer)
U-19 girls’ team – Preeti Mehra (coach), Sushma Thapa (physio), Darishesha Mawroh (trainer)
U-16 boys’ team – Sengam G Momin (coach), Bianglang Chyne (physio), Skhemborlang Khongbtep (trainer)
(Photos: Meghalaya Cricket Association. From left: Ravi Teja, Punit Bisht, Saee Purandare, Sanjay Yadav)
