Gully Cricket with a social cause

A‘Gully Cricket’, organised by the Union Territory Cricket Association (UTCA, affiliated to BCCI) and the Chandigarh Police, in the month of April 2023 set the record for the maximum number of teams participating in a T-10 cricket tournament. The tournament was aimed at promoting the social cause of creating awareness against the drug menace. The slogan of ‘Balla Ghumaao Nasha Bhagaao’ was to deter drug use by youth in the region. The UTCA and Chandigarh Police gained entry into the India Book of Records through this sporting event.

There were 204 teams of 14-18 year old local youth playing in the ‘Gully Cricket’ tournament playoffs, which started on April 6, 2023 and ended on April 23, 2023. Around 2,500 budding cricketers from 204 teams participated in the championship played on 10 different playgrounds, including Punjab University’s law ground, Punjab Engineering College’s ground, College of Architecture’s ground, DAV School, Sector 8, Police Lines, Sector 26, and government schools in sectors 32, 40, 19, 35 and 26.

The T-10 cricket tournament was inaugurated at Sector 16 Cricket Stadium and the final match was also played at the same venue. The closing ceremony was attended by DGP Praveer Ranjan, officials of the Police Department and the Chandigarh Administration, MC Commissioner Anindita Mitra, and UTCA president Sanjay Tandon. The winning team was awarded a cash prize of Rs 51,000, and the runner-up team was given a prize of Rs 31,000. Two semi-finalists were also awarded a prize of Rs 11,000 each.

The tournament was supported by the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation along with the sports, education, and social welfare

The record for the maximum number of teams participating in a T-10 cricket tournament was set by Union Territory Cricket Association (affiliated to BCCI) and Chandigarh Police, under the guidance of Sanjay Tandon, President of UTCA along with the Chandigarh Police. “The circular had been issued to promote cricket and identify the grassroot-level talent. It was a good initiative by the association,” said an official of the Chandigarh Sports Council. departments of the UT Administration of Chandigarh. UT Sports Council had issued a circular to all its coaches for becoming a mentor to make teams for the ‘gully cricket’ two weeks before the event began. This is the first time that the coaches were asked to make teams for a tournament, which was not affiliated and being organised with a social cause by the local association

A weekend exhibition match was also played on April 16 under the aegis of the Gully Cricket Tournament at Sector 16 cricket stadium, between Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker’s XI and Haryana Vidhan Sabha Speaker’s XI. The toss was settled between the two teams by former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur. Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya honoured the winning and runner-up teams. Chandigarh Police SSP Kanwardeep Kaur and Chandigarh Administration’s Advisor Dharampal also attended the event. According to UTCA chief Sanjay Tandon, “The tournament held under the drug-free initiative of the city, was aimed at providing direction to the youth and will be held annually. The tournament aims to provide children of slums and colonies with a platform.”