Shillong, Oct 14: The Meghalaya Cricket Association has formed a committee to study the matter of non-local players representing the state team at BCCI domestic tournaments and recommend concrete measures to better deal with the situation after a protest over the issue was made earlier this month.
After plenty of chatter on the subject on social media, a pressure group raised an objection with the MCA regarding the inclusion of several players – all non-tribals – in the Meghalaya senior men and U-23 men’s team, questioning if they were genuine Meghalaya domiciles.
The MCA subsequently decided to drop one of the players in question from the senior men’s team but retained all the others.
In a letter to the pressure group, quoted by Highland Post, the MCA said that a three-person committee consisting of senior members of the association has been formed to probe the matter. The committee comprises MCA Vice-President Rayonald Kharkamni, and two Apex Council members – Arwotki Sumer and Sengnab Momin.
The committee will “study and verify all existing documents and records, investigate individual cases and recommend concrete measures.”
The MCA also said that it has undertaken numerous measures to try and popularise the sport among the local tribal population of Meghalaya, which is its “top-most priority”. These measures include establishing cricket grounds in each district; partnering with local schools and colleges in the districts; providing financial and technical assistance for affiliated district associations to set up academies; grants for district associations to conduct grassroots tournaments; and sponsoring courses for match officials and team support staff.
Explaining the eligibility criteria, the MCA said that players typically have to have been born in Meghalaya – whether tribal or non-tribal – or be permanent residents with schooling from the primary level and possess valid documents, “including domicile/permanent residential documents of parents, like EPIC, Aadhaar, etc,”. However, according to BCCI rules, players whose parents are central government employees or defence personnel posted in Meghalaya are also eligible to represent the state.
The MCA also stated that it is not by itself alone responsible for selection of players. In a paragraph that was underlined in the letter, it said that at the start of the selection process, names of probables are forwarded to the MCA by district associations and it is only then that the parent body calls up the nominated players for trials.
In light of the protest, the MCA’s apex council has decided that district associations have “to be more proactive and not allow/register any players from outside to participate in their local league or any other tournament(s) organised by the district.”
(Representative photo)