The Meghalaya Cricket Association is set to host the inaugural Senior Women's Interstate Friendship Tournament, providing a significant boost to women's cricket in the Northeast.
The tournament, organised under the North East Cricket Development Council (NECDC), will take place from September 30 to October 4, 2024, at the newly established cricket ground in Pahamsning, Nongkhrah, Ri-Bhoi district.
This T20 tournament will feature six teams from the NECDC states: Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim.
Meanwhile, the 2nd Senior Men's Interstate Friendship Tournament will also be organized by the NECDC and hosted by the Nagaland Cricket Association. It will be held from September 23 to 28, 2024, in a 50-over format at the Nagaland Cricket Stadium and Sovima Cricket Ground. The men's tournament will serve as match preparation for teams before the commencement of the BCCI 2024-25 domestic tournaments in October.
In the men's competition:
Group A: Nagaland, Sikkim, and Mizoram
Group B: Meghalaya, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh
For the women's tournament:
Group A: Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Manipur
Group B: Nagaland, Mizoram, and Sikkim
Both tournaments aim to develop the sport across the Northeastern region, ensuring competitive exposure for the teams in advance of the BCCI season. Nababrata Bhattacharjee, Founder Co-Convenor of NECDC and President of the Meghalaya Cricket Association, emphasized the importance of these tournaments in promoting cricket across the six states.