Northeast Cricket Push Gains Ground as Sikkim Gets ₹23 Cr Stadium Ahead of PM Inauguration

The Indian valley of rice, being the strategic location it is, is now advancing in the field of sports development. The BCCI has taken matters in hand by constructing a ₹23 crore stadium in Sikkim. The Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary, Devajit Saikia, visited the facility ahead of the prime minister's inauguration event scheduled to be held on the 28th of this month.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Sikkim on April 28. On that day, the indoor cricket facilities in Sikkim, which we started in 2022, will be completed and ready for inauguration. The prime minister will inaugurate the facilities in Rangpo as well as in five other northeastern states. From Gangtok, all six facilities will be inaugurated, which will give a new impetus to the entire Northeastern cricket scene," Saikia said.

"I have visited Sikkim for infrastructure work six or seven times before, but I had never come to see the cricket infrastructure specifically. Today, I am pleasantly surprised to see such excellent facilities. The cricket ground that the Sikkim Cricket Association has built here is very beautiful. It features an international-standard cricket pitch and outfield, all set in lovely surroundings. These facilities are outstanding, and the Sikkim Cricket Association has done a lot of work for the development of cricket here," he said.

"Furthermore, when Jay Shah was the BCCI secretary in 2022, he initiated a project for the development of cricket in the Northeast. This project aimed to provide indoor cricket facilities in every state that had recently received membership, as it rains heavily here for six to seven months of the year. The objective was to ensure that cricketers wouldn't face any difficulties in their practice. Under Jay Shah's leadership, the BCCI began this project in 2022, and it is now complete," Saikia told reporters.