History of MPCA

Madhya Pradesh – The State

'Madhya' in Hindi language means the 'center'. As the name suggests, the state of Madhya Pradesh is located in the central part of the Independent India and is the second largest Indian Sate in size with an area of approx. 3,08,000 sq.km., and 50 districts. 

Post Indian Independence, Madhya Pradesh came into being on 1 November 1956. The state had about 66 districts. Further, it was re-organised on 1 November 2000 to create a new state of Chhattisgarh. With this reorganisation, 16 districts were separated. Madhya Pradesh is bound in north by Uttar Pradesh, east by Chhattisgarh, south by Maharashtra and west by Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association

Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, MPCA, is a body controlling and governing the game of cricket in the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. MPCA is an affiliated unit of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

A look at the transition of MPCA will take us back to the year 1932 when the Central India Cricket Association came into existence. Later on, the Holkar Cricket Association (from 1940-41 to 1954-55), Madhya Bharat (1955 – 57) and subsequently the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association since 1957 till date.

Cricket flourished in India as a reasonably popular mode of recreation during the earlier part of the twentieth century. During that period, the game received patronage from the royal families and princely states. Before the Indian Independence, Indore, earlier known as Indaur, was a princely state under the control of the Holkar Dynasty. Indore was the hub of cricket activities during that era.

Late Yeshwantrao Holkar was a great cricket aficionado and was keen to extend royal benevolence to cricket and upcoming cricketers. To boost up the local cricket set-up, he invited prominent players like Col. C K Nayudu, Bhausaheb Nimbalkar, Chandu Sarawate, C S Nayudu, Khandu Rangnekar, Hiralal Gaekwad and Kamal Bhandarkar to play cricket for his team – The Holkars. Capt. S Mushtaq Ali, Major M M Jagdale, J N Bhaya were the local talent in his team. He also offered them job opportunity in his army. He was, perhaps, the only royal head who continued to extend necessary support to cricket and the cricketers but never played the game himself.

Col. C K Nayudu was the captain of the Indian side for the first ever test played in the year 1932 against England. The batting elegance of Syed Mushtaq Ali can be gauged from the fact that he was the first Indian to score a Test century on the foreign soil (against England at Manchester in 1936).

These great cricketers played a pivotal role in development of the game in this part of the country. With enthusiastic support from the local players like Syed Mushtaq Ali, Balasaheb Jagdale, J N Bhaya, Rameshwar Pratap Singh and other, the Holkar team appeared to be invincible.

During the period of fifteen years from 1940-41 to 1954-55, Holkar team won the coveted Ranji Trophy on four occasions – 1945/46, 1947/48, 1950/51 and 1952/53. Moreover, they were the runner up on six occasions 1944/45, 1946/47, 1949/50, 1951/52, 1953/54 and 1954/55. This breathtaking record just suggests the strength of the Holkar team.

Subsequently, the end of Holkar era created a vacuum in the Madhya Pradesh Cricket for a few years. Though good cricketers were emerging on a regular basis, the team could not perform consistently. Players like Bhagwandas Suthar, Subodh Saxena, Ashok Jagdale, Sanjay Jagdale, Narendra Menon, Vijay Nayudu, Syed Gulrez Ali, Manohar Sharma, Ashwini Chaturvedi, Sanjeev Rao, Kirti Patel gave a glimpse of their talent and were amongst the leading domestic players knocking for a berth in the Indian side.

With the support from BCCI and the influx of young players, the MP team started performing as a cohesive unit and qualified regularly for the knock-out phase of the Ranji Tournament during the period from 1971 to 1980. Regrettably, the team could not replicate the trophy winning performance of the Holkar team.  

Efforts on part of MPCA helped in laying of the development pathway for the next generation of cricketers. Regular tournaments, upgradation of infrastructure, talent identification processes, appointment of seasoned coaches, services from professional players and such other measures were adopted in tandem to reach the desired goals.

Contribution to Indian cricket since Holkar team is summarised in the following table.   

Though women's cricket came under aegis of BCCI only in 2006, several female cricketers have emerged from the soil of Madhya Pradesh - Rajeshwari Dholakia, Jyotsna Patel, Sandhya Agrawal, Rekha Punekar, Minoti Desai, M Rupanjali Shastri, Arundhati Kirkire, Bindeshwari Goyal, Rajeshwari Goyal, babita Mandlik, Nidhi Buley.

MPCA is inked in the history of International cricket in its own way. Sachin Tendulkar played two of his historical innings in matches hosted by MPCA. Way back in the year 2001, Sachin crossed the dream figure of 10000 runs in the One Day Internationals. This match was played against Australia at the Nehru Stadium – Indore. He became the first cricketer to do so in the history of One Day Internationals and that too in the least number of games – 266 to be precise. 

The second nostalgic moment occurred on 24^th February 2010. India playing against South Africa at Capt. Roopsingh Stadium, Gwalior. Sachin’s willow was hammering opponent bowlers in all directions. In just 147 balls Sachin played a blistering knock of 200 runs and remained unbeaten while the team scored a mammoth score of 401 runs in 50 overs. It took nearly 40 years of waiting for a male cricketer to achieve this figure but the wait was well worth it.

It was again Indore when Virender Sehwag, during the India - West Indies ODI at Holkar Stadium on 8^th December 2011, scored a scintillating knock of 219 runs to surpass Sachin's 200*.

Thus, MPCA has a strong history of contribution for the betterment of cricket, cricketers, and all other associates of the game …..