Patna, Feb 17 (IANS): The Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) president Rakesh Tiwari has underscored the primary objective of the State's cricket governing body which is to unearth raw talent from Bihar. BCA will be staging many domestic tournaments in Bihar with the purpose of nurturing cricket talent at the grassroots level in the State.
The BCA chief assured that talented players won't be overlooked based solely on their team's performance at district-level competitions. Individuals showcasing promising skills will receive opportunities.
"Last year we staged many domestic tournaments in the state. This year also we are going to conduct tournaments and the purpose will be to search for raw talents from the State who go onto represent Bihar in the big competitions such as the Ranji Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, etc," said BCA president Rakesh Tiwari in a statement.
The BCA chief also outlined crucial areas of focus for the Bihar team, emphasizing the need for batting and fielding enhancements while expressing satisfaction with the team's bowling performance.
Rakesh Tiwari was satisfied with the performance of the bowlers as far as the ongoing season of the Ranji Trophy is concerned. Bihar cricket team's Ranji season started with the game against Mumbai last month. The side from Bihar bundled Mumbai out quite cheaply in the first innings, however, the team lost the match by an innings and 51 runs.
"Our bowling has been up to the mark. We took 8 wickets on Day 1 of our first match against Mumbai. But we need to improve our batting and fielding going forward. We are playing in the Elite group for the first time and that's a big thing for us having played in the Plate group last season. I'm satisfied as overall we have improved a lot," said Rakesh Tiwari.
Speaking about the growth of women's cricket, the BCA chief said, " For women's cricket there will be an altogether different tournament like inter-district and the design and format of the competition will be made accordingly."
Rakesh Tiwari also informed that Bihar cricket is working on two aspects for making the game of cricket grow in the State. "We are working in two directions, one is cultivation and the other is nurturing the available resources. We are doing it at the district level like visiting schools and motivating children about the game."
Meanwhile, the Bihar team is gearing up for its last Ranji Trophy match for the season. The team will lock horns with Bengal in Kolkata from February 16.