Bhutan handed first professional cricket coaching

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Thursday, January 1, 1970, 5:30 [IST]

Thimpu: The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan on Sunday concluded its first professional cricket coaching camp after years of relying on television to learn the game.

A two-day camp was conducted in the capital of this tiny Buddhist kingdom by former Sri Lankan Test player Roshan Mahanama and cricket administrator Jayantha Paranatala. The duo was brought here by Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando to popularise the game that is almost a common religion in South Asia. The Bhutanese Cricket Association (BCA), which won affiliate membership of the International Cricket Council (ICC) last year, hopes to improve the standards and attract young players to the game. BCA president, Lyonpo Kandhu Wangchuk, who is also the Minister of Trade and Industry, said Bhutan's cricketers were used to high altitudes and could easily adapt to conditions anywhere else. "Till now, cable TV was the only source of coaching for our players," Wangchuk said, referring to the 45 cable TV channels that broadcast, among other things, a steady dose of international cricket matches. Mahanama, a member of the Sri Lankan team that won the 1996 World Cup, was amazed at the enthusiasm of young cricketers in Bhutan. "What they have learnt from TV is fabulous. But they need proper training and regular practice," Mahanama said. "Our target is to get them trained for ACC (Asian Cricket Council) matches." The two-day camp was organised after Sri Lanka offered its expertise to Bhutan during a summit of the seven-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in Nepal in January. "When I met the then Bhutanese Prime Minister Wangchuk (the present BCA President) at the SAARC summit, he asked me for assistance in developing cricket in Bhutan. This exercise is a result of that request," Fernando said. He said Sri Lanka was using the "Technical Assistance Program" of the Foreign Ministry to give a push to cricket in Bhutan. "I see tremendous potential in these youngsters. They have picked up the game from cable TV over the past two decades," said Fernando, who is to help in the preparation of a large training program for Bhutan. Bhutan's players do not have proper cricket grounds and make do with pitches made of mat, which can be rolled out and used on any ground. These `matting wickets' are widely used for club matches on the sub-continent. But expertise in preparation of pitches could come later. Right now, youngsters need to be taught the nuances of the game, for which they are very keen. A 14-year-old Bhutanese boy, Saroj Rai, said he was pleased to meet a professional coach for the first time. "We learnt a lot from him. But we need more training," Rai said at the end of the hectic training session. Another youngster, Tshering Samdrup, said his dream was to represent Bhutan in an international match. "We are dreaming of bringing the World Cup to the Himalayan Kingdom as Roshan Mahanama did in 1996."