Young cricketers who displayed exceptional talent at the recently concluded Under-15 Junior Cricket Tournament and the Ambar Roy Sub-Junior Cricket Tournament for Under-13 organised by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) were felicitated by the Mainland Sambaran Cricket Academy (MSCA) on June 15.
The academy emerged champions in the Under-15 tournament and runner-up in the Under-13 category.
The event was organised at the Speciality Restaurants Limited’s signature restaurant, Mainland China on Gurusaday Road in south Kolkata in the presence of several dignitaries and guests. The felicitation ceremony saw rich praises being heaped on all involved in the academy for creating an atmosphere to nurture and spot talent for the future.
Hardships, economic dispositions and lack of resources often lead to genuine talents going to waste and it is these issues that the academy, helmed by former national selector of the Indian team Sambaran Banerjee in collaboration with founder and director of Speciality Restaurants Limited Anjan Chatterjee have been striving to address for over two decades now.
The young cricketers and their coaches were presented gifts along with dollops of encouragement. A lip-smacking buffet of delicacies followed.
During his inaugural address, Sambaran Banerjee recalled that eventful Sunday winter morning when Anjan Chatterjee, Alokmoy Ghosh and he met at Vivekananda Park where Chatterjee, highly impressed with the dedication and expertise of all involved, had expressed his desire to support the academy.
There has been no looking back since then. With an aim to create a talent pool good enough to produce players for the national side, Banerjee also outlined plans of the academy to send players abroad for training.
Banerjee said, “It is extremely difficult, impossible if I may say so, to play with the red ball after a short break from the white ball tournament. This is affecting other forms of cricket but without any bitterness towards IPL, I would request the cricket commissioner to arrange for at least a fifteen-day break between the formats.”
Anjan Chatterjee, founder and managing director, Speciality Restaurants Limited, remembered how he wanted to support players after witnessing the hardships faced especially by those who hail from middle-class families
After Banerjee’s inaugural speech, Anjan Chatterjee, founder and managing director, Speciality Restaurants Limited, remembered how he wanted to support players after witnessing the hardships faced especially by those who hail from middle-class families. “Playing with proper gear etc was the privilege of the richer sections of the society” he added, “But in the modern context, changes in cricket have led to the birth of endless possibilities.”
Chatterjee stated this is where he felt that more support was required and so he decided to create an environment with whatever resources he could make available. In the course of his association with the academy, Chatterjee said every time the academy excelled, it felt like a personal achievement. Elaborating on the future of the academy he said, “The days ahead could possibly see a more decided plan of approach.” Those not from the affluent section of the society required every bit of support. Creating the right ambience to nurture talent was “the ultimate desire of everyone involved in this venture,” he said.
Youngsters enjoy the delicacies to their hearts’ content during the event
Responding to My Kolkata’s query of what was more challenging and satisfying – “Cooking for the palate or ‘cooking’ talent for the future” – Chatterjee said he was, of course, more aware of the culinary world in comparison to nurturing sporting talent. He said, “We all have knowledge about cricket but the finer nuances lay with experts and it is that expertise that the establishment has been borrowing from legends like EAS Prasanna, Kapil Dev and Dilip Balwant Vengsarkar. I am aware of the culinary domain through an experience gathered from over three decades, but now, gathering cricketing acumen from these experts is the main objective. However, the task of nurturing talent appears to be more of a challenge.”
Banerjee told My Kolkata, “This academy and its association with Mainland China happened through the spontaneous desire of three friends, namely Mainland’s MD and director Anjan Chatterjee, editor Alokmoy Ghosh and me, to create better facilities for Bengal’s talented youngsters. Till date, there has been no formal documentation of this association but Chatterjee’s support for everything has always been instantaneous and immense.”
Anjan Chatterjee and Sambaran Banerjee pose with the champions