BUKSS Media Cricket Fest to commence from January 20, NCYS-Aranyak Valley to contest in opening match

Jookto Media Cricket Fest 2021 organised by Barak Uppotoka Krira Sangbadik Songstha (BUKSS) is going to commence from January 20. BUKSS officials announced this at a press conference held at the cricket pavilion of Silchar District Sports Association on Sunday. Jookto has once again come forward as the main sponsor of the tournament. The tournament countdown has now begun with media persons eagerly waiting to hit the field after a long interval due to covid pandemic.

The formation of four teams of Cachar got finalised through lottery method. All the four teams are preparing themselves to offer quality cricket at the crease. The teams are practising at Satindra Moham Dev Stadium during the morning and afternoon hours. The other two teams in the tournament are from Karimganj and Hailakandi. They were also selected through the lottery method and the time table also got fixed. Accordingly, Group A includes Yasi Khobor Heroes led by Debasish Shome, Valley Strong News Rockers led by Sanjeev Singh and Press Club Karimganj Strikers. Group B includes NCYS Press Fighters led by Aniruddha Laskar, Aranyak Valley Media Panthers led by Amlava Das and Hailakandi Media Challengers. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals. Two matches will be played every day in the tournament. The first match will start at 9 am and the second one will be held at twelve o’clock.

In the opening match of the tournament, NCYS will play against Aranyak Valley. In the second match, Yasi Khobor Heroes will play against Karimganj. The semi-final match of the tournament will be played on January 23 and the mega final will be held on January 24.

As in the last few years, the teams have selected from four brackets by lottery method. The 56 players have been divided into four teams. For this, 20 players were kept in ‘A’ bracket, 16 were kept in ‘B’ and ‘C’ brackets. There was also a bracket kept for four wicketkeepers. This was the first time in the history of the tournament that a captain bracket was created. Six got placed in it. From there, four team captains have been selected by the four team sponsors.

The organisers have made some curtailments in conducting the tournament. However, those are out of the field. The main event remains the same, although cuts have been made in some other areas, including the opening ceremony of the competition. More than 100 journalists from Barak Valley will take part in this media cricket fest. This time Ravi Hazam and Bedabrata Banerjee will jointly play their role as tournament conveners. BUKSS has also arranged a medical team for the tournament. All in all, with the official announcement of the tournament, the wait for the media fest has already started now.