Cuttack: After being haunted by age-fudging controversy for the past several years, the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) has finally come up with a mobile application to curb the illegal practice.
The mobile application was rolled out during the annual general body meeting of the State cricket body here today. The app has a central database containing information of all groups of registered players.
Speaking about the mobile app, OCA secretary Sanjay Behera said, “The mobile app will contain online data of all players. We will create intra-club in the grassroots level by taking 10 clubs from each district to ensure that the deserving player get selected from the club level cricket to the district team and thereafter to the State team.”
“Prior to club level cricket, officials from OCA will visit the district headquarters and supervise the player registration process so that we can curb the age-fudging from the district level,” he added.
The app will have the performance records of various trial matches and all other matches played by players in the club and district levels.
The OCA has also decided to restart inter-school and club cricket tournament in the State from next year to identify and groom budding cricketers as part of a long-term plan to revamp the sport in grassroots-level by 2024.
“There must be continuous activities throughout the year in the domestic cricket which was not being organised previously. Therefore we have prepared vision 2024 under which inter-club tournaments will be organised by selecting 10 clubs from each districts. On the basis of the matches, players will be selected for district level matches. Besides, inter-school tournaments will be hosted in different districts and players will be selected," Behera said.
"The OCA will bear all expenses of training and study of selected budding cricketers. They will be kept in cricket academy and given special training," Behera informed.