The 9th Conclave of the North East Cricket Development Committee (NECDC), which is a joint coordinating body of six North East states – Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim – will be held at the State Convention Centre here on June 1, to be hosted by Meghalaya Cricket Association. The occasion will also witness the 3rd Achievers’ Awards Night to recognise high performing cricketers and officials of the six states from the BCCI’s domestic 2023-24 season.
Such conclaves are held annually, on rotation, among the member states; the MCA also hosted the third in 2018. Officials of all state associations together with founder members and award recipients will be present for the event.
The NECDC was formed in 2016 at the initiative of the founder and present Convenor and Co-Convenor, with the sole objective towards a united approach for realising the aspiration and rights for full permanent membership of the BCCI.
“It was a long and arduous struggle against all odds and opposition,” Co-Convenor Nababrata Bhattacharjee (who is also the MCA President) said in a press release today. “The avowed goal was reached finally in 2018, together with rights to participate in the prestigious Ranji Trophy and all other BCCI tournaments, including the constitution of a sixth zone of the BCCI for the six states termed as the ‘North East Zone’. It was indeed a historic year for all six states but with the permanent status has come bigger challenges and responsibilities.”
The NECDC functions with a common minimum goal of cooperation among the six states exclusively for the development of cricket and cricket-related activities, ensuring better communication between the members and the BCCI, promotion of grassroots level cricket to encourage indigenous young potential and improving cricket-related activities like regular tournaments, etc among NECDC states to ensure better understanding and bonding among them.
The basic principle is to collectively pursue the development and promotion of the game in a united manner so that the North Eastern associations can assist each other in all possible manners in the greater interest of the game and in the interest of Indian cricket. “Teamwork highlighting collaborative effort has been the hallmark of the NECDC up to now, functioning within the BCCI rules and guidelines,” Bhattacharjee said, adding that the committee plays an important role in uniting all states together as a team.
In this vein, the NECDC launched two initiatives in recent years – the Inter State Friendship Cup in 2023 and Achievers’ Awards Night in 2022, the latter which recognises achievers in all age categories of BCCI tournaments – men, women, boys and girls.
The two steps are aimed at inspiring the cricketers from the zone and recognising the performers during the season. Moreover, an exchange programme, clinics for coaches, umpires, physios, trainers, et al among the six states are also held regularly.
