BCCI goes to school

MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) now goes to schools to give a boost to the game at the grass root level. In the process the BCCI has made an exception in their policy of not supporting one-day cricket at the under-19 level by joining hands with MSSA for the conduct of the Boost Inter-Schools Cup.

“We have a policy not to encourage the one-day game at the under-19 level. But we are supporting this tournament as we want to develop the game at the grass roots level,” BCCI’s chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty said  on Thursday.

“In fact, the BCCI has given a directive to all state cricket associations to take under their wings 15-20 schools and support them by providing coaches whose expenses wil be borne by us,” he said. Leading sports accessories brand Nike have joined as the apparel partner of the All India Inter Schools tournament to be played in 18 cities and towns across the country.

“We are not only here to support sports but also to develop our own brand,” Nike’s director of marketing Sanjay Gangopadhyay said. The Boost Cup is a tournament initially played as an intra-city event to locate the champion team of that city.

The tournament involves schools in Mumbai, Chennai and Tamil Nadu district centres (6), Hyderabad, Bangalore, Punjab district centres (6) and Vadodara, with the champions of eight zones set to fight it out for the All India title.

Shetty, who is also the treasurer of the MCA, is bearing all the expenses from this year onwards. “The MCA will bear the expenses of the Giles and Harris Shield tournaments organised by the MSSA,” he said.