Step-by-step advice on pathways, clubs, competitions and coaching for getting into girls cricket and women’s cricket in Uttarakhand.
Ekta Bisht began playing cricket at the young age of six on the streets of Almora, nestled in the Himalayas. Her father, who retired as a havaldar from the Indian Army, ran a tea stall to support her dream of becoming a cricketer. Today, the left-arm spinner has the fourth-highest wickets in ODIs for India and is one of the stars to come from humble beginnings in Uttarakhand.
Uttarakhand doesn’t have a very big pool of women playing cricket but is high on talent. Apart from Ekta Bisht, Mansi Joshi and Sneh Rana have made it to the Indian women’s cricket team in recent years.
Many of these top players were born in what is now Uttarakhand but played for other teams such as Railways, UP and Punjab. Because of better opportunities, competition and jobs.
How to join the Uttarakhand women’s team
Uttarakhand has Under-19, Under-23 and senior women’s cricket teams.
There is no club system or a district system so, a player should start by appearing for the open trails.
The selection process is then as follows:
- Keep an eye out for announcements of the trial dates from the Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU). These will usually be available in newspapers.
- Appear for the trials on the day and time mentioned, with your completed form. Usually, separate trials are held for junior and senior age groups.
- Selectors watch players perform on that day, either in open nets or in 5-6-a-side matches.
- They then prepare a list of probables, who are called for a camp.
- At the end of the camp, the final state team is selected.
In 2020-21, for the first time, CAU began a T20 competition for girls. It was also the first tournament under lights. Called the Hansa Dhanai T20 Women’s Challenger Cup, it had five teams chosen from among the top players across various age groups.
Facilities
The main cities for girls cricket are Dehradun, Nainital and Almora.
When state camps are held, the players get residential facilities at Kasiga, Kashipur and at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy, Dehradun.
Contact: info@cauttarakhand.tv
Other opportunities to develop cricket
There aren’t many private tournaments happening. For the past couple of years, the Nainital cricket association has been organising an inter-academy T20 tournament, along with teams invited from outside the state as well.
School cricket
There is no formal structure in place yet.
College cricket
There is no formal inter-college structure, but Kumaun University, Nainital, features in the inter-varsity tournament.
Hans Raj College also supports women’s cricket.
Cricket academies with programmes for girls
- Amriti Devi Cricket Academy, Nainital (see below)
- Tanush Cricket Academy, Dehradun
- Uttarakhand Cricket Academy, Haldwani
- Women’s Cricket Academy
- Doon Lion Sporting Club, Dehradun
Scholarship & financial aid
The Smt. Amriti Devi Cricket Academy in Nainital gives free coaching to girls.
The Cricket Association Of Uttrakhand too offers some aid to players in need for their cricket gear.
If you have information on schools, colleges or academies that support girls cricket in Uttarakhand, contact us and we’ll add it to this page!