Kashi on the shortlist: UP T20 League chairman says Varanasi could host matches in the near future

Banaras cricket has a name on the board. At the opening ceremony of the fourth season of the UP T20 League in Lucknow on 15 August, league chairman Dr Sanjay Kapoor said that matches could be hosted in Varanasi, Gorakhpur and other cities of the state in the near future. The current season is being played across two centres only — Lucknow and Kanpur — and Kapoor framed the expansion as a way of taking the tournament closer to the talent it keeps finding outside the big cities. For Kashi, the interest is not abstract. One of the six franchises in this edition carries the city's name, the Kashi Rudras, so local supporters already have a side to follow even though the fixtures are being played elsewhere. Nothing has been scheduled for Varanasi yet, and no venue or date has been announced, but this is the first time the league has publicly put the city on its list of future hosts. Kapoor also spoke about the league's grassroots scouting drive, under which selections were held free of charge for players from rural areas. Players found through that drive, he said, are now spread across all six squads in this season, and several of them drew bids running into lakhs at the auction. The ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla. If the plan holds, the next few seasons could bring top-flight T20 cricket within a rickshaw ride of the ghats.

Compiled by HelloBanaras from public sources: The Hans India (IANS)