Indian cricket legend, Sachin Tendulkar has been busy even after his retirement. The little master has been involved in various social activities that are aimed at promoting the game of cricket in India.
The Mumbai Cricket Association has decided to implement Sachin's proposal of 14-a-side cricket tournament at school level. The MCA approved the proposal on 10th October 2016.
The association passed the proposal on Monday, allowing 14 players to play on a team at school level cricket instead of the traditional system of 11 players. The decision was made in order to popularise the game among children.
The Mumbai board has decided to kick-start this innovative idea by implementing them in the Harris Shield and Giles Shield, both of which are inter-school tournaments. It is to be noted that in 2013 Mumbai Cricket Association had mixed opinions about the quality of Harris Shield and Giles Shield tournaments.
The Harris Shield, incidentally, was the tournament that first brought Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli into the limelight after their record 664-run partnership for their school in the late 1980s.
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“The Mumbai Cricket Association has recently given the go-ahead for the proposal and the same would be implemented in the Harris Shield and Giles Shield tournament,” MCA Joint Secretary P V Shetty was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
According to the proposal, every team will be allowed to play all of their 14 players. All the players will be allowed to bowl as well. At present, only 11 players are allowed to play in a team. The Mumbai School Sports Association has reportedly agreed to implement this innovative and productive idea.
The proposal aims at giving equal opportunities to all the players so that the right talent is brought into the limelight. It also aims at reaching rural parts of the state and popularizing the game among the school students.This proposal has already been implemented in few other states, including Haryana.
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Sachin had proposed this idea in a felicitation ceremony by the Mumbai Cricket Association following his retirement in 2013.The master blaster was delighted by MCA's move and said the young cricketers will have a better opportunity now.
"I am happy that Mumbai Cricket Association has cleared my suggestion for more players in school squad to be involved actively. Budding cricketers will be encouraged and I welcome the move," said Tendulkar.
With Sachin’s proposal being implemented by the Mumbai Cricket Association in inter-school cricket, the state can expect a lot more school students to take up the game of cricket.
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