Patna: The long-awaited Bihar Rural Cricket League was formally launched on Tuesday at a hotel near Gandhi Maidan, marking a major push to expand opportunities for grassroots cricket talent across the state. The announcement was made by Governing Council convener Gyaneshwar Gautam, who confirmed that trials will start on 7 December, with matches to follow in the first week of January.
The initiative was first conceptualised nearly two years ago by former Bihar Cricket Association president Rakesh Kumar Tiwari, whose vision was to discover “the next Vaibhav Suryavanshi” from rural Bihar. Technical hurdles and adverse weather stalled the league for two seasons, but organisers say the newly elected leadership under Harshvardhan, the league’s president, is committed to finally realising Tiwari’s dream.
More than 15,000 registrations; 645 matches planned
According to officials, over 15,000 players have registered for the league, of whom around 12,800 will get the opportunity to play. All matches will follow the Twenty20 (20-over) format.
The competition will be vast in scale, featuring 645 matches across three stages:
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600 matches in the first phase
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35 matches in the second phase
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10 matches in the final phase
Organisers have also secured partnerships to support the league’s operations. Vishal Sports, West Bengal, has agreed to sponsor sporting goods, while Nayab Sports has been appointed to manage event operations. All matches will be streamed live through a partner broadcasting platform.
Trials begin in East Champaran; media coordination in place
The trial process will open on 7 December in the Western Zone, beginning in East Champaran. The league’s media outreach will be handled by Rupak Kumar, who has been assigned responsibility as the media coordinator.
Organisers say Bihar Cricket is “fully prepared” to support what is being positioned as one of the state’s largest rural sporting programmes.
At the event, officials showcased the league’s slogan:
“खेलेगा बिहार, जीतेगा बिहार, देखेगा पूरा हिंदुस्तान.”
(Bihar will play, Bihar will win — and the whole of India will watch.)
