SGFI to launch talent hunt for cricket league

School Games Federation of India (SGFI) will launch an ambitious talent hunt in its endeavour to unearth talented young cricketers later this year across India.

The initiative which has been christened as the National School Cricket League (NSCL) has been conceptualized with a vision of becoming India's ultimate platform for school cricket.

SGFI will scout for talented youngsters across India in the age bracket of 12-18 years and then conduct a School Cricket League which will be held at premier venues and will follow a T-20 format to select the Champion team of India.

An esteemed panel of coaches from SGFI and mentors will form the selection panel and will conduct a thorough selection trial to choose the talented cricketers. The selected cricketers would then go on to represent their respective city or state team in the League.

A total of 16 talented cricketers from the league will be provided five-year scholarships and will be provided advanced training and prepare them for future endeavours.

"The NSCL is going to be one of its kind initiatives. A talent hunt is cricket in something SGFI is getting in for the first time and we are really very optimistic of its outcome. All of us know for a fact that cricket is the most played and followed sport in the country. But there are still so many young students who do not get the right opportunity and through National School Cricket League (NSCL) we want to reach out to all the aspiring students in schools who have interest in Cricket and give them a platform to showcase their talent and skills," Dr.Pradeep Mishra, joint secretary of SGFI and CEO of NSCL, said.

"We are in the final stages of locking the cities and the expert panel of coaches and mentors and will be announcing it very soon. We will have best of the venues, provide best training and facilities and make sure that NSCL is conducted keeping in mind international standards," Mishra added.

While the league stages of the tournament will be held in India, the knock-out stages will be held at the Dubai International Stadium and the ICC Academy in Dubai.