Himachal Pradesh cricket is on rise and its cricketers have swept across all the age groups. First time in the north India's hilly state cricket history, Himachal Pradesh team has reached knock out stage in Under-16, Under-19 and Under-25 level.
Speaking on this achievement by the state boys, President, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) and joint secretary, BCCI Anurag Thakur said: "We are very happy and ecstatic at this historic moment, when we started this journey some years back it was a dream that Himachal teams should play well in the national matches and now our dream has realized."
Thakur said that HPCA is committed to provide world class facilities to the players of our state and the day is not far off when our teams would become champions at the highest level and the players from association will be playing for the nation and making us proud. It is the infrastructure created in last ten years and world class coaching provided in a fair and transparent manner that has made this possible, he added.
"We are striving hard to provide international facilities to all our players and districts. On behalf of all local districts units and HPCA as a whole, I would like to wish the best of luck to all our boys for the knockout stages," he said.
State's under-19 team has topped Cooch Behar Trophy group A elite table. Himachal Pradesh under-19 team is the group leaders with 13 points with Uttar Pradesh team coming second with 12 points. The team won 2 out of the 4 matches it played, the maximum in their group.
In the Under 25, CK Nayudu Trophy, Himachal Pradesh under 25 teams has reached the knock out stage in style. The team has topped plate group A table with victories in 4 out of 5 matches it played. The state under-19 team is the table toppers with 29 points. Kerala under-25 team with 21 points is the distant second. Himachal Pradesh under-16 boys are not far behind. In the Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy, in the north zone group table, the team has come second with 12 points.
Punjab under-16 team with 20 points is the group leader. Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association's thrust on improving the infrastructure throughout the state is paying rich dividends. Players across all age groups are using all the facilities provided to the hilt and this speaks about the robustness of the cricketing system in the state.
The players are soon set to begin their campaign in the knock out stage. In the Cooch Behar trophy, HPCA will play its first match against Karnataka in Bangalore from 5-8 January 2014. In the Vijay Merchant Trophy, HPCA team has got bye in the pre quarterfinal. The state under-16 team will play its quarterfinal match from 12th-15th January in Mumbai.
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/Himachal-cricket-players-shine-once-again/articleshow/28347222.cms
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