Tura, Aug 28: Former Indian cricketer, Abey Kuruvilla visited the Alotgre Stadium in the town of Tura to check on the stadium’s preparedness to host domestic matches for various circuits of the country. In the essence of the matter Kuruvilla became the first Indian cricketer to set foot in Tura and in Garo Hills.
Kuruvilla who represented India in Tests and ODIs and played for Mumbai domestically was here in the capacity of a General Manager of the BCCI and was welcomed to the ground by a Wangala troupe.
He was joined by the president of the Meghalaya Cricket Association, Naba Bhattacharya along with other MCA and Tura District Cricket Association (TDCA) officials.
Speaking during the visit, Abey began by stating that the North East was one of the most beautiful parts of India.
“You guys are all blessed to be a part of this place. People think it is far off but whatever little I have seen of Dimapur (Nagaland), Shillong and now Tura you are blessed to live in such a beautiful place. You live in luxury,” he stated.
He added that with Tura being distant from major cities, it becomes a challenge to host matches here though he added that they were looking at ways to work around the challenge.
“Many cricketers from Garo Hills represent the state in senior and other age categories and the game is gaining popularity.
You are also waiting for some cricket to happen here. Form our side, we will try but can’t promise you anything. Maybe once the roads get better,” he stated.
During conversations with people gathered, Abey inquired about the cricket scene in the region while stating that the BCCI was looking at seeing better cricket happen in the North East. He also added that he was happy with the dimensions of the ground.
Abey visit comes a few days after the chief curator of the BCCI also came to Alotgre to check on the ground’s preparedness and expressed happiness with what he saw.
MCA president, Naba Bhattacharje who was with the BCCI official stated that things were looking positive for cricket in Garo Hills and he was hoping the ground to host a few Ranji trophy matches in the coming year.
However, as was stated by Kuruvilla, it would depend on the teams that were slated to come and their willingness.
“He (Kuruvilla) was happy with the state of the ground and that the dressing rooms would suffice for age group cricket.
There was room for improvement in terms of the dressing rooms. He has kept an open mind on the matter and stated that he would speak to various state boards to work on how cricket can be brought to Tura,” said Naba.
