Keeping his eyes fixed on the shiny ball nestled in the hands of the rushing seamer, Subramanyam lunged ahead and hit the ball to the fence. The shot was a fitting reply to the previous ball which beat him.
Close to 4,000 young players, all belonging to the hinterland spread across Chandragiri Assembly Constituency, have gathered here for the YSR Rural Cricket Tournament, which is under way at the sprawling Thummalagunta ground on the city outskirts. The huge ground is divided into ten playgrounds, where the players compete with one another to bag the trophy.
Chandragiri is a vast segment spread across Tirupati Rural, Chandragiri, Pakala, Chinnagottigallu, Yerravaripalem and Ramachandrapuram mandals, considered an exciting mix of urban, rural, hilly, agrarian and forest stretches. It is for the fifth consecutive year that the local legislator Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy is conducting the tournament for the benefit of the youth in his constituency, apart from distributing cricket kits to every village. With no help from the State, the event conducted entirely by the individual is termed a hit, barring minor hiccups.
“This is not only an attempt to identify talent from rural areas, but also to positively engage the youth and channelise their energy,” Mr. Reddy told The Hindu.
As many as 370 teams of 14 players each (including the twelfth man and substitutes), are participating in the tournament.
“Three matches are conducted every day, starting at 7 a.m., 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Each side has to play 15 overs, while the semi-finals and final are in 20-over format”, says S. Farook, a sporting enthusiast, who is coordinating the events.
The tournament has gone down so well among the rural youth that they get to net practice during this part of the year, even before the announcement is made.