26-04-2023 : The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association has launched the Talent Hunt 2023 mission, which aims to tap new talent across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The mission will be conducted at six different venues across the Union Territory, namely Srinagar, Kupwara, Bijbehara, Jammu, Kishtwar, and Poonch, to find out new talent and provide opportunities to the cricketers belonging to the far-flung areas.
The Talent Hunt 2023 will be conducted for Junior age groups, including Under-16 and Under-19 Boy’s and Under-15 and Under-19 Girl’s. Furthermore, due to the BCCI’s recent introduction of the U-23 format for women, Under-23 Women’s Talent Hunt has also been included in the mission.
The Talent Hunt 2023 is a part of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association’s efforts to identify new cricket talent and provide them with the required training and development to further strengthen their skills. The emphasis is on quality rather than quantity, and the selected players will be provided with mental training, including yoga, to strengthen them as individuals and as a team.
To ensure uniformity in the selection process, two separate selection committees for Jammu and Kashmir regions have been made. The trials will be held on different dates at different venues. The Talent Hunt 2023 will not only provide a platform for selected players to showcase their skills at the Union Territory and National Level but will also help in strengthening the Jammu and Kashmir cricket teams by providing a pool of new talent.
The Talent Hunt 2023 will also help the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association to learn from the lessons of the previous year’s Talent Hunt and make some changes accordingly. This year’s Talent Hunt will only be conducted for Junior age groups, and players desiring to participate in Talent Hunt were registered earlier to check their eligibility as per the norms and conditions laid down by the BCCI. This would result in saving time and effort.
The players from districts Kupwara and Baramulla will participate in trials at Galizoo Stadium, Kupwara on April 27, from Anantnag, Shopian, Pulwama and Kulgam districts on April 29-30 at Govt. Boy’s Secondary School, Bijbehara.
Brig Gupta said that the players belonging to the districts of Central Kashmir and Bandipora and including Ladakh will participate in trials at Sher–I-Kashmir Stadium, Srinagar from May 1 till 3.
“In Jammu region, talent hunt trails will begin at Kishtwar wherein players from the districts of Kishtwar, Ramban and Doda will participate at Govt. Degree College, Kishtwar. The trials at Kishtwar will be held for two days i.e. April 27 and 28,” he stated and said that the the players from Rajouri, Poonch and Reasi will undertake the trials at Army Ground, Poonch on May 6.
The players belonging to the remaining districts of Jammu will attend the trials at JKCA Complex, Jammu from April 30 to May 4.
The Talent Hunt 2023 by the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association is an excellent initiative to discover new cricket talent across the Union Territory. By providing opportunities to cricketers from far-flung areas, the Talent Hunt 2023 will not only help to identify and train new talent but also strengthen the Jammu and Kashmir cricket teams for the future.