Dhar (Madhya Pradesh): The office-bearers of Dhar District Cricket Association (DDCA) met Akash Vijayvargiya, the newly-appointed president of Indore Divisional Cricket Association (IDCA) and handed over a memorandum highlighting their issues with district administration.
In their memorandum, DDCA president Pradeep Joshi said that for the past 38 years, DDCA has been conducting cricket matches and organising tournaments at the Uday Ranjan Club grounds. Over 150 boys and girls from Dhar district have been receiving regular training here, resulting in significant achievements on both national and international stages.
Notable players like Amol Kokje, Sagar Gopal Solanki in the women's category, Gungun Ale (Indorama), and Samriddhi Barfa (Rajgarh) in the Under-15 category have emerged from this training ground. In the 2023-24 season, Dhar's cricket teams won titles in two out of four competitions in various age groups and were runners-up in the other two. Despite these successes, the summer sports training camp, which has been free for 34 years, was abruptly closed following verbal instructions from the district administration. This closure has sparked anger among DDCA officials, members, players and their parents.
The DDCA remains the only centre in the district offering cricket training with season (leather) balls. Joshi highlighted that the camp's closure was a result of false and misleading complaints from three anti-social elements associated with the Uday Ranjan Club.
Despite previous permissions granted by the then district magistrate and SDM, these complaints have led to the suspension of training activities. Additionally, there is a conflict over the proposed construction of a swimming pool on the cricket nets ground, which most Uday Ranjan Club members oppose.
In response, IDCA president Vijayvargiya, chairman Sanjay Lunawat, Sachin Devashish Nilose and BCCI team manager Amitabh Vijayvargiya expressed their support for the DDCA and assured that they would discuss the matter with the district collector and commissioner Deepak Singh to find a resolution.
