Mysore/Mysuru: Roger Binny, President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has said: “Women’s Premier League (WPL) has set the wheel in motion for taking women’s cricket to a different level, with budding players sure to get their due.”
He was addressing the gathering during the formal inauguration of All India Inter-University Cricket Tournament for Women 2022-23 (that began on Apr. 5 and played till Apr. 11), organised by JSS Science and Technology University (JSS STU) in association with Association of Indian Universities (AIU), at JSS-KSCA Ground, SJCE campus in city, last evening.
Binny, as he is known among the cricketers, said: “After I took over as BCCI President, women’s cricket has been the focal point of discussion. WPL (the first season held in March 2023) has a great future. I was very surprised to see the women players showing their prowess in the game on the field, that naturally gives a feeling that the women’s cricket has taken off to a different level. The girls have a good opportunity to set the goal to hone their cricketing skills.”
“When men’s IPL started in the year 2008, it helped a lot of Indian players to study the style of game of foreign players, by mixing with them. The women players also have got a similar opportunity to study the work culture of foreign players and the way they play and think about the game,” added Binny.
Asserting that WPL will also be a great success like men’s IPL, Binny called on the budding cricketers taking part in the tournament to explore the good opportunities and play for the country to make their parents feel proud of them.
Binny, who announced that Mysuru city holds a special place in his heart and is also fond of the place, went down the memory lane to recall his younger days, when he was an athlete first, before becoming a cricketer.
“As an athlete I had taken part in javelin throw and shot-put during Dasara Sports in city. Besides watching Karnataka team play cricket on the other side,” said Binny to the applause of the gathering.
Binny also disclosed that he is going to be a Mysurean shortly as he has brought a property in the city.
‘Rajeshwari Gayakwad – an alumnus of JSS’
Dr. A.N. Santosh Kumar, Vice-Chancellor of JSS STU, recalled the achievements of Roger Binny as a squad member of Indian cricket team that lifted its maiden World Cup in 1983.
Dr. Santosh Kumar also made a mention of Rajeshwari S. Gayakwad, the Indian woman cricketer, who is an alumnus of JSS Free School, a residential facility run by JSS Mahavidyapeetha at Suttur Sri Kshetra in Nanjangud.
Pencil sketch
A pencil portrait sketch of Binny by Dr. C. Revanna, Director of Department of Physical Education, Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (SJCE), was also gifted to Binny on the occasion.
S.P. Manjunath, Secretary-1 of JSS Mahavidyapeetha and Dr. S.A. Dhanaraj, Registrar of JSS-STU, were also present.
Teams
In all, 12 women’s cricket teams from different Universities across the country are participating in the All India Inter-University Cricket Tournament for Women 2022-23 and have been grouped under pools A, B, C & D.
Pool-A
- Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana
- Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune
- Awadhesh Pratap Singh University, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh
- Adikavi Nannaya University, Rajamahendravaram, Andhra Pradesh
Pool-B
- Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala
- Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Darbhanga, Bihar
- Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab
- University of Rajasthan, Jaipur
Pool-C
- Barkatullah University, Bhopal
- Lovely Professional University, Punjab
- University of Calicut, Kerala
- Hemchand Yadav University, Durg, Chhattisgarh
Pool-D
- Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University, Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh
- Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
- Shivaji University, Kolhapur
- Panjab University, Chandigarh
The matches will be played at JSS-KSCA Ground, University of Mysore, SDNRW Stadium (Gangothri Glades), JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research (JSS AHER) Grounds and Maharaja’s College Grounds, Mysuru.
This post was published on April 6, 2023 7:51 pm