Shillong, Nov 27: The Meghalaya Cricket Association will implement an age cap for its senior teams and crack down on anti-MCA and anti-BCCI activities as well as take other measures to bolster cricket in the state.
19th Apex Council Meeting and the 6th Annual General Meeting of the MCA was held on 23rd November here.
The Honorary Secretary’s and Honorary Treasurer’s reports were presented and passed by the house. The MCA also felicitated Sanvert Kurkalang and Lakhan Singh, who had recently announced their retirement from consideration for senior men’s cricket conducted by the BCCI.
Several important resolutions were adopted regarding selection of players for state teams, eligibility of players, grassroots tournaments and other matters.
In terms of eligibility, the MCA will limit selection of senior team players to those who haven’t crossed 35 years from 2025-26 onwards. Players who cross the age limit can offer themselves for retirement and have scope for opportunities as trainers, coaches, etc, thereby utilising their experience for the continued benefit of cricket in the state.
To represent Meghalaya, players will have to have been born, be permanent residents or domiciles of the state. If not, his/her parents should have been born, be permanent residents or domiciles of the state. BCCI guidelines for outstation players’ eligibility will also be considered if necessary.
It is the affiliated district associations that forward names of players for MCA camps and these units will be mandated to “adopt a full-proof system to select players representing the respective districts or for recommending names to the MCA for state trials,” an MCA press release stated today.
Selectors are unable to please everybody but this season has seen a lot of criticism on social media, some of which has not just criticised but made accusations of mismanagement, corruption, etc without offering proof. Perhaps in light of this, the MCA will take strict disciplinary action against players “who commit anti-MCA or anti-BCCI activities, either through comments, etc on social media or through action that is proven to be anti-establishment”. A special committee will be constituted to draft a comprehensive policy for players’ conduct, behaviour, etc. The Ethics Officer of the MCA will be part of the said committee.
For new junior players up to 19 years, the MCA will insist that they come up through the ranks of district and state level youth tournaments and special coaching camps and lateral entry directly into more senior categories will not be allowed.
In this vein, the MCA the affiliated district units will be mandated to hold inter-school and other tournaments in U-12 and U-14 categories from 2025-26. The MCA will also organise inter-district tournaments for junior boys and girls immediately once the BCCI domestic season concludes and before the monsoon arrives at Nongkhrah (Ri-Bhoi), Alotgre (Tura) and Polo (Shillong).
To tie this all together, the association will formulate a blueprint to promote and popularise cricket from the grassroots level upwards in a structured manner with matching infrastructure set up. This action plan will cover short-term (3 years) and long-term (5 years) periods “encompassing a holistic approach”.
Meanwhile, after going through the activities of the new Eastern West Khasi Hills District Cricket Association, it has been found that it deserves the status of a permanent member of the MCA from 2025-26, fulfilling the guidelines and statutes of the MCA as provided in the Constitution of the Association.
The MCA will take up the development of the Madan Kurkalang ground in Ri-Bhoi in earnest. Urgent work like wall construction, levelling of the ground and proper signage and signboards will be erected.
Each district has been provided with a set of computers for better documentation of players, especially with regards to the BCCI’s compulsory athlete monitoring app-based software and to keep records of district activities.
(Meghalaya Cricket Association photo)
