The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : KCA to launch City League

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KCA to launch City League

Principal Correspondent

KOCHI: After all the controversies that troubled it the last couple of years, the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) elections were a surprisingly smooth affair here on Saturday with T.R. Balakrishnan and T.C. Mathew being unanimously re-elected as the President and Secretary respectively.

The KCA has now taken up some major projects, including building its own world-class stadium in Kochi within the next three years, and clearly the vote was for continuity at its 59th AGM at the Hotel Abad Plaza.

“It was a very cordial turnout, the elections were unanimous and all our members participated actively,” said Mr. Balakrishnan.

Dream project

“The new Rs. 250-crore international stadium which will come up at Edakochi on 23 acres of land will be the KCA’s biggest project ever. It is our dream project.

“There were some reports in the media about the Government offering land in Thrissur for the stadium but we had unanimously decided in April 2007 to have the stadium in Kochi. Leave alone Thrissur, we can’t even have it in Angamaly (some 25kms from Kochi). Also, the BCCI now wants State associations to build its stadiums in its own land,” he said.

The KCA has now written to the Government for stamp duty exemption for the land where the stadium is to come up.

Mr. Mathew also announced the launch of the City League this year. The champion teams of all its 14 districts of the State will figure in the event which will be held in Thiruvananthapuram or Kochi. He also spoke about the Cricket Academy and Sports Hostel (CASH) and Cricket at Schools projects, which were announced earlier, through which the KCA plans to bring more and more youngsters into the game. Women’s cricket will also be given priority from this season.

There is talk doing the rounds for the past few weeks about a few prominent film personalities planning to start an IPL team from Kerala. “It’s a premature concept,” said Mr Mathew.

The association has also appointed former Kerala Ranji captain S. Ramesh as Manager, cricket development and organisation.

The KCA office-bearers (2009-2013): T. R. Balakrishnan (President), S. Haridas, Sunil Koshy George, Syed Ziabudeen, Ronklin John (Vice-Presidents), T.C. Mathew (Secretary, representative to the BCCI and Kerala Sports Council), T.N. Ananthanarayanan (Joint Secretary), G. Saji Kumar (Treasurer), R. Anil Kumar, Sabu P. Samuel (Assistant Secretaries).

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