Jay Shah keen on reviving ‘Afro-Asian’ cricket Project

was first mooted in 2005 by the late Jagmohan Dalmiya but ended prematurely in 2009, focuses on creating a development structure to make cricket more popular, accessible and competitive. It has been learnt that Shah proposed the idea during an ACC event in Colombo recently and is looking to develop strong cricketing ties between the two continents. He has put forward a model that is commercially viable, financially feasible and technically sustainable. The project will ensure that there is a real transformation at the grassroots level with age-group cricketers being the focus. The plan is formulated to give more opportunities to cricketers at U16, U19 and U23 levels by having qualified coaches nurturing and mentoring them, having a strong competition layout where they have more game-time and get to test their skills against up-and-coming players from across the continent. With Asia now being the game’s biggest market, Shah wants to use cricket’s popularity in the region, and its structure and technical expertise to reach out to African nations and help them strengthen their grassroots and age-group system. Both Asia and Africa now constitute 47 member countries and with the African Cricket Association’s (AFC) member nations having a strong cricket following population of over 570 million, Shah’s proposed project will ensure both ACC and AFC benefit from this unique partnership (By Priya Nagi -UNI)