The Hynñiewtrep Youths Council (HYC) has written to the Meghalaya Cricket Association to complain about the composition of its U-23 and senior men’s teams, claiming that many of the players are non-locals masquerading as state residents.
Providing no proof, the HYC alleged that six players in the MCA’s U-23 Col CK Nayudu Trophy squad “are not locals from the state of Meghalaya but they have been selected as local players.” The players named are Kevin Christopher, Abhishek Kumar, PM Santhosh, Sachin Kumar, Rohit Kr Yadav and Raghav Magotra, several of whom have represented the state for several years.
Arpit Bhatewara and Jaskirat Singh Sachdeva are two players’ inclusion the HYC has a problem with in the senior men’s Ranji Trophy squad.
“This action of MCA to give preference to outsiders is at the cost of the local deserving and talented players and is not acceptable at all and highly condemnable,” the HYC said. “It is a fact that these outsiders took sudden interest to represent Meghalaya only after the MCA got its affiliation as a full-fledged member of the BCCI in the year 2017-2018. It was the local players prior to 2017-2018 who had performed and worked hard in order to put Meghalaya cricket in its present position.”
The pressure group wants these players cut from the team and their places to be given to “local deserving players”.