Himachal’s moment in the sun

Gaurav Kanthwal

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, March 24

With India and Australia squaring off for a series-deciding match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Dharamsala on Saturday, the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) couldn’t have hoped for a better match to make debut as a Test centre. Come to think of it, it’s quite an achievement for HPCA to earn the Test status given its bare minimum infrastructure, stop-start performance in the domestic circuit, lack of cricketing culture, and the inability to produce a Test cricketer so far. 

Ironically, when the association and the venue are on the cusp of their brightest moment, former HPCA president Anurag Thakur, who is credited with raising the cricket infrastructure in the state, is not present. The picturesque venue has already hosted a couple of ODIs and T20Is, besides IPL matches, and has garnered worldwide praise for its  scenic surroundings. But it’s the advent of Test cricket that the cricket aficionados, especially the former cricketers from the state, were looking forward to with great hope and anticipation. 

“It is a great moment for HP to host a Test match. It is a matter of great pride for the people of Himachal. HPCA has hosted IPL, T20I and ODI matches but hosting a Test match is special as youngsters will get to see players showing their calibre, temperament and skills over five days and how they work hard for it,” said former fast bowler Shakti Singh, who played 58 first class matches for HP and Delhi.

Rugged topography, adverse weather conditions, lack of infrastructure and coaching facilities are some of the reasons for the Himachal cricketers not making it big. However, there have been some bright moments, one of them being Rajeev Nayyar overshadowing Hanif Mohammed’s record of the longest individual innings of 970 minutes (337 runs in the first Test against West Indies at Bridgetown in January 1958). In 1999, Nayyar  occupied the crease for 1015 minutes for his 271-run knock against Jammu & Kashmir in the North Zone Ranji Trophy game at Chamba.

Former left-arm spinner Jaswant Rai, a veteran of 70 first class matches, said the state has made considerable progress in the last 10 years. “Who would have thought HP will produce international cricketers, but in last 10 years we have produced international cricketers like Rishi Dhawan, Sushma Verma (Indian women’s team), Prashant Chopra (India U-19),” he said.