Assam cricket’s Vijay Hazare success seeds sown in soil from Balangir

Guwahati: The seeds of Assam’s glorious show at the 2022 Vijay Hazare Trophy, the premier domestic white-ball 50-over tournament, were sown some three years back when the former apex council took charge under the leadership of president Ramen Dutta and secretary Devajit Lon Saikia.

Saikia recently took charge as the national cricket board (BCCI), joint secretary. On Saturday, he revealed that the Kunal Saikia-led state team’s performance in the tournament, where they reached the semifinals, justified the former council’s decision to relay the wickets in Assam during the Covid-19-induced nationwide lockdown in 2020.

“In 2019 when the apex council took over, we asked (Assam all-rounder) Swarupam Purkayastha, ‘what ails Assam batters’ and found that the existing pitches in Assam weren’t suitable for playing long innings. For decades, Assam has banked more on its bowling strength in domestic cricket than its batting. That was an eye opener for us,” Saikia revealed on the side lines of a felicitation programme hosted by the Assam Cricket Association (ACA) for the state team.