Invitation tournament for women planned

“We are planning to start an invitation tournament for women on the lines of the Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup very soon and also organise separate leagues for seniors and school children,” said Vidya Yadav, the newly-appointed BCCI convenor for women’s cricket (South Zone).

In an informal chat with the media at the Gymkhana Grounds here on Friday, Vidya said the first priority would be to start the women’s league at the earliest. Thanks to the support of the Hyderabad Cricket Association, the grounds are available for daily training and competitions too, she said.

Abundance of talent

“Right now, we have a pool of about 70 players in the twin cities besides another 100 in the districts. We are very keen to increase the pool in view of the abundance of talent at different levels. We want to give them adequate exposure by conducting more tournaments,” she said.

“We are also planning to conduct inter-district tournaments for different age groups to tap talent,” she said.

“As part of these efforts, we are going to request the BCCI to appoint a zonal coach who should train at least 25 of the best players at a regular camp,” Vidya said. “I will be touring the other Southern States to see that we make optimum use of the facilities and the financial support being provided by the BCCI. Budget should not be a problem for us since the BCCI has allocated about Rs. 7 crore per annum.”

“The other initiative from our side will be to involve former cricketers in promotional programmes. Right now, Amita Misra and Deepali Patkar are taking care of two camps comprising about 50 players, with HCA providing the complete kit and gear,” she said.