Srinagar: With an aim to find out new talent and provide opportunities to the players belonging to far-flung areas, Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association is conducting Talent Hunt 2023.
The Talent Hunt which began today is being conducted at six different venues across the UT namely Srinagar, Kupwara, Bijbehara, Jammu, Kishtwar, and Poonch.
The players from districts Kupwara and Baramulla will participate in trials at Galizoo Stadium, Kupwara today i.e. 27th April 2023. The players from districts Anantnag, Shopian, Pulwama, and Kulgam will be participating in trials at Govt. Boy’s Secondary School, Bijbehara on 29th April and 30th April 2023. The players belonging to the districts of Central Kashmir and Bandipora and including Ladakh will participate in trials at Sher –I-Kashmir Stadium, Srinagar w.e.f. 01st May, 2023 till 03rd May, 2023.
In the Jammu region, Talent Hunt Trails will begin at Kishtwar wherein players from the districts of Kishtwar, Ramban, and Doda will participate at Govt. Degree College, Kishtwar. The trials at Kishtwar will be held for two days i.e. 27th April and 28th April 2023. The players from Rajouri, Poonch, and Reasi will undertake the trials at Army Ground, Poonch on 06th May 2023. The players belonging to the remaining districts of Jammu will attend the trials at JKCA Complex, Jammu w.e.f. 30th April, 2023 to 04th May, 2023.
Brig. Anil Gupta (Retd.), Member Administration, Sub-Committee, JKCA held two separate meetings at Jammu and Srinagar for final coordination which was attended by the members of the Selection Committees and the Organisers.
He stated that keeping in mind the lessons learned from the last year’s Talent Hunt, a few changes have been made in Talent Hunt 2023. Further elaborating, he stated that this year Talent Hunt is being organised only for Junior age groups namely U-16 & U-19 Boys and U-15 and U-19 Girls. “However, in view of the introduction of the U-23 format for women, this year by the BCCI, U-23 Women Talent Hunt has also been included.” He advised the members that the emphasis in Talent Hunt 2023 should be on quality and not quantity.
“Two different Selection Committees for Jammu and Kashmir regions have been made. The same Selection Committees will conduct trials at all venues to ensure uniformity in the selection. Unlike last year, the Talent Hunt trials are not being conducted simultaneously but on different dates at different venues,” he said.
“This year the players desirous of participating in Talent Hunt were registered earlier in order to check their eligibility as per the norms and conditions laid down by the BCCI. This would result in saving time and effort,” he added.
“We are determined to identify new talent, train them and thereafter provide them a platform to showcase their talent at both the UT and National Level,” said Sunil Sethi, Member Legal Affairs, Sub-Committee, JKCA.
Mithun Manhas, Member Cricket Operations & Development, Sub-Committee, JKCA, informed: “This year our emphasis would be more on providing match practice to our teams and to strengthening players mentally. For this, we have included Yoga as a part of our training program. The Players selected during the Talent Hunt will help further strengthen our teams and provide a pool for the future.”
