The Punjab team after the end of their Ranji Trophy campaign in the 2019-2020 season in Patiala earlier this year. PCA has finalized a list of 30 players who will receive contracts starting in the 2020-2021 season.
Eight months after the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) decided to offer core contracts to 30 players for the 2020-2021 domestic season at its main council meeting in November last year, the association has finalized a list of 30 players, including cricket women. The list will be approved at the association’s council meeting to be held on August 8, which will be sent to the BCCI for approval.
Last year, the Uttarakhand Cricket Association had announced its decision to offer core contracts to its players, and Punjab had also decided to offer the same. According to the list, players like Punjab captain Mandeep Singh, Siddharth Kaul, Gurkeerat Mann, Sandeep Sharma, Shubman Gill, Anmol Malhotra, and Indian cricketers Harmanpreet Kaur and Taniya Bhatia have been featured in the category ‘A’, which will offer an amount of Rs 8 lakh under the contract system called the scholarship scheme. Kaur, Bhatia, and Jasia Akhtar are the three women who practice cricket on the 30-member roster that includes ten cricket players in category ‘B’ offering Rs 6 lakh per year and category ‘C’ offering cricket players U-19 offering Rs 10,000 per month.
“We made the decision to implement the Punjab player contract system last November and formed a subcommittee to prepare the roster and other formalities. The list has been finalized and, in accordance with our policy, all players who have played for India, including two cricketers Harmanpreet Kaur and Taniya Bhatia, have been offered category “A”. Players like Mandeep, Siddharth, Sandeep, Gurkeerat and Shubman have also played for India. The young Aanmol Malhotra, who was the find last season, has also been included in category “A”. Another cricket player, Jasia Akhtar, has been included in category “B”. Due to the reduced season due to COVID, this will all be based on a proportional basis, ”said Puneet Bali, secretary of the Punjab Cricket Association.
While Punjab had missed the quarterfinal place in the Ranji Trophy last year with a mustache, state cricketers have not competed in any competitions since March, when the shutdown began. While the players have started training sessions and physical training at their homes and also on some grounds, the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali is still closed for training. PCA is also awaiting instructions and guidelines from the Punjab government regarding training to open at the stadium.
“The COVID situation has been going on for the past four months and we have been monitoring his physical training through online training in addition to mental conditioning. From now on, it looks like the 2020-2021 national season will be a reduced season, but whenever it happens, we want our players to be ready. We have also made the decision to renovate the IS Bindra International Stadium as we plan to build it as an international academy after the new stadium in Mullanpur is completed. We have started working in the indoor practice area and other work will also start soon. We will also receive guidelines on cricket training from the Punjab government and will begin training once it is allowed, ”added Bali.
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When asked about the possibility of organizing a practice camp for any IPL team if the Punjab government allows it, in case the IPL takes place in India or the UAE, Bali said PCA is open to the idea. “We are open to any team that uses our stadium for practice camp, depending on the permission of the Punjab government. Work at the new stadium in Mullanpur was slowed down by COVID and we are now 9-12 months behind schedule, ”he added.
Former Punjab captain Pankaj Dharmani sees this PCA initiative as an encouraging step for the state’s cricket players. “BCCI had started this system for the Indian team and now it is good to see that the state teams do the same. It will carry the Punjab cricket forward as it will offer players financial security. In addition to that, it will also encourage junior cricketers to target categories “A” and “B” and help cricket players to be even more competitive, “Dharmani said.
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