The Sikkim Cricket Ground (SCG) at Majhitar near Rangpo will host its debut Ranji Trophy match when the home team takes on Manipur in the 2022-2023 season of the country’s premier domestic tournament from December 13 to 16.
The two-year-old stadium owned by the Sikkim Cricket Association (SiCA) will also host the state’s two other Ranji matches against Mizoram from December 27 to 30 and against Arunachal Pradesh from January 10 to 13 next year.
Rangpo is about 40km from Gangtok.
SiCA was given the approval to conduct matches at the ground by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after Anant Datar, the board’s manager of cricket operations, inspected the stadium recently. “The BCCI official was impressed by SiCA’s recently-developed facility,” said a SiCA official.
After SiCA was granted full membership of the BCCI in 2018, the state has been participating in Ranji Trophy and other high-profile tournaments, but at venues away from home in the absence of a proper cricket stadium.
“The ground now has nine pitches at the centre, three of which can be used for matches properly. The two-storied pavilion will be completed in about 10 days. The lower floor will be for the use of players and officials and the upper one to seat the VIPs,” said the official.
Work on the SCG is still in progress and is yet to have galleries for the spectators. After the state government granted SiCA the extended lease of the ground in 2018, the BCCI funded its development as a cricket stadium.
“Cricket developed and saw massive growth in the past three years. This would not have been possible without the support of the BCCI and the government of Sikkim,” said SiCA.