Matches under new floodlights in Silchar

Matches under new floodlights
SATANANDA BHATTACHARYA
Silchar T20 cricket
Hailakandi, Dec. 4: The District Sports Association (DSA), Silchar, will hold the first Twenty20 match at the Satindra Mohan Dev stadium under the newly installed floodlights on Saturday.
The secretary of the association, Babul Hore, said the T20 match would be played between Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Ltd and Air India.
International players like Virendra Sehwag, Mahindra Singh Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Md Kaif, Robin Uthappa and Sourav Ganguly are expected to play in this match along with other national level players, DSA sources said.
The match will commence at 5pm.
Hore said all the international players, working for ONGC and Air India, were being contacted through Union heavy industries minister Sontosh Mohan Dev, who is the chief patron of the Silchar DSA, to participate in the match. Cricketer Kapil Dev will also be present..
The match is being organised to mark the inauguration of the floodlights and the Rs 87lakh NEC-funded Sontosh Mohan Dev cricket pavilion.
Hore said that it would be one of the biggest sporting extravaganzas for the people of Barak Valley. The Satindra Mohan Dev stadium is at present one of the second biggest sporting infrastructure in the state after those in Guwahati. source: the telegraph india

Silchar may get India-England ODI

ACA to back Silchar pleaGuwahati, May 25: The Assam Cricket Association (ACA) has decided to recommend the District Sports Association of Silchar’s appeal to the BCCI to grant it a one-day international venue status.At the ACA’s governing body meeting in Hojai on Saturday, the issue on Silchar’s appeal to host the India-England ODI at Satindra Mohan Dev Stadium in December was discussed.

Officials contended that since the BCCI was the competent authority to recognise ODI venues in consultation with the ICC, the ACA would recommend Silchar’s case to the BCCI.“If the BCCI recognises the venue observing the necessary formalities, we will consider allotment of a match in Silchar,” ACA secretary Bikash Baruah said, elaborating on the governing body meeting’s resolution.With the installation of floodlights in the 30,000-capacity stadium, the DSA of Silchar has been pleading with the ACA for allotment of an international match there.

Though the stadium and associated amenities in Silchar meets the requirement for hosting an ODI match, the Barak Valley town falls short of accommodation facilities in compliance with the ICC provisions.Silchar lacks the five-star accommodations that the ICC prefers in ODI centres.However, even Guwahati does not have five-star hotels, but has been hosting ODIs since 1983, accommodating the teams in some of the best available hotels in the city. Silchar is also lagging behind as far as flight connectivity is concerned.

The governing body has also approved of the introduction of elite and plate groups in the Nuruddin Ahmed Trophy senior inter-district cricket tournament in conformity with the BCCI’s Ranji Trophy competition rules. OTHER HEADLINERS Chandrajyoti Bhattacharjee of Karimganj unanimously elected vice-president from South Assam Zone APSC member Sirajul Hussain Saikia, parliamentary secretary Ajit Singh, DIG of Police GP Singh and veteran sports organiser Nani Dutta named special invitees for general body meetingsACA makes profit of Rs 78 lakh from November 5, 2007, India-Pakistan ODI. Source: Telegraph India