Step-by-step advice on pathways, clubs, competitions and coaching for getting into girls cricket and women’s cricket in Vidarbha.
Bharti Fulmali used to smash the neighbourhood bowlers as a young girl playing on the streets of Amravati. One day, she ended up hitting a motorbike and smashing some glass. The story goes that the bike rider was so shocked at seeing a girl hit the ball so hard that his anger disappeared!
From that day onwards, Bharti’s father realised his daughter had a special talent that could be nurtured. By the age of 13, Bharti was playing for the Vidarbha Under-19 team. She has now played a couple of T20Is for India and is looking for consistency in her game to remain at the top level.
Along with Bharti, Mona Meshram, who featured in India’s World Cup 2017 campaign, is a big name to come from Vidarbha.
Vidarbha is one of the three teams in Maharashtra. You can see find details about the Maharashtra and Mumbai teams in those pages, but for reference, these are the districts of the state that come under the Vidarbha Cricket Association: Nagpur, Amravati, Buldhana, Akola, Washim, Yavatmal, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia.
Here’s how you can get into cricket in Vidarbha.
Where to start
Most girls in the region start by getting involved in private academies or summer camps organised by the Vidarbha Cricket Association and its various district cricket associations.
If you don’t get into an academy when you’re young, don’t worry. Start off by playing any sport in your pre-teens, gain some fitness, and when you’re in your teens you can specialise in cricket if you still want to.
VCA also holds some talent hunts. Your coach or PE teacher in school can keep you posted about this.
How to get selected to the Vidarbha women’s team
Vidarbha has teams for Under-16 (or Under-15), Under-19, Under-23 and senior women.
Selection to these teams is through a mix of open trials and performances at the district level.
VCA holds trials for different age groups, especially the junior level, across the state. Keep an eye out on the local newspaper or the VCA Facebook page for information about venue and dates. If you are part of an academy, your coach will also let you know the details.
For these trials, a girl has to go to the venue and register with her ID and age proof, and show her cricket skills to the selectors.
The most promising players from these trials will be named for a camp. From this camp and practice matches, the final state teams are announced.
Facilities
VCA is attempting to provide the women and men’s teams access to similar resources such as nets and gym. There is separate timing for the women to use the gym at Civil Lines, Jamtha. A new ground is being developed just for the women to use. While the women’s teams don’t get to stay in the residential facilities in the academy for safety concerns, they are put up in separate guesthouses.
A few years ago, an off-season camp was conducted where boys and girls worked together. This not only included cricket training, but also group discussions and video analysis classes. This was organised thanks to Chandrakant Pandit, who coached the men’s senior team to two Ranji titles in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
Contact VCA on admin@vca.co.in or +91-712-2541908
College cricket for women in Vidarbha
Some universities in the Vidarbha region feature in inter-varsity competitions. These include:
- Amravati University
- RTM Nagpur University
LAD College has a women’s only academy as well.
Academies open to girls cricket in Vidarbha
Sant Gajanan Cricket Academy, Amravati
Mujumdar Cricket Academy, Nagpur
SGR Sports Academy, Nagpur (Residential facilities available, associated with MS Dhoni academy and Gaikwad-Patil International School
Western Coalfields Ltd grounds in Nagpur has coaching facilities
Ruby Sporting Club
Youth Cricket Academy, Chandrapur
If you have information on schools, colleges or academies that support girls cricket in Vidarbha, contact us and we’ll add it to this page!