According to historians, cricket was played for the first time on the Indian soil in 1721, in the Gulf of Khambhat, 80-odd kms from Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) headquarters in Ahmedabad. But back then cricket wasn’t ‘cricket’ as we know it today.
Gujarat Cricket Association was established in 1934 and is the governing body for cricket in the state with ten districts and a union territory under its wings. Ahmedadabad, Kheda, Anand, Bharuch, Surat, Valsad (Bulsar), Gandhinagar, Banaskantha, Panchmahals, Daman and Dadra Nagar Haveli come under GCA’s jurisdiction.
GCA is a permanent member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The Association believes in democracy and the affairs of the Association are run by office bearers, who are duly elected every three years by the General Body consisting of 37 members. There are four honorary members in the Association.
The Association is led by the dynamic and visionary president Mr. Amit Shah, who is also the president of the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), the ruling party at the Centre. Mr. Shah and energetic GCA vice president Mr. Parimal Nathwani, who is also President Corporate Affairs Reliance Industries Limited and Rajya Sabha MP, are determined to take Gujarat cricket to newer heights. The two dynamic personalities of Gujarat are credited for infusing professional attitude among the GCA teams. The success can be seen in Gujarat team’s historic win in the Ranji Trophy 2016-17 season.
But the scene was different five years ago. In spite of its existence for over eight decades, Gujarat had only produced a handful of international cricketers as compared to other affiliates of BCCI.
Despite having world class infrastructure including an indoor stadium and ultra modern gymnasium at Motera stadium, Gujarat boys were unable to deliver. A few got a national call but there was no national trophy in GCA’s cabinet. Best finish at national level was runners-up in 1950-51 Ranji Trophy. Something was missing.
In 2009, then chief minister of Gujarat Mr. Narendra Modi took the GCA reigns in his hands. He figured out that there was no dearth of talent and promise but it was the lack of professionalism that was holding the state back. As the president of GCA he encouraged professional / guest players for Gujarat. Former India players Venugopal Rao and Ramesh Powar suited the billing. Moreover, Mr. Modi emphasized on appointing professionally qualified support staff.
With world class infrastructure and the right attitude, the atmosphere in the Gujarat dressing room changed gradually.
Gujarat blossomed under the leadership of Parthiv Patel. In 2014-15, they won Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 and followed it with Vijay Hazare 50-overs competition in the following year. They recorded a hat-trick of national trophies with the prestigious Ranji Trophy in 2016-17 at the expense of mighty 41-time champions Mumbai.
Gujarat Team has now won all the match formats in domestic cricket. It was like icing on the cake when Parthiv Patel made a comeback in Team India while Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah earned their respective international caps during this period. Gujarat had arrived.
In the past, Mr. RK Patel, Mr. Mrugesh Jaykrishna and Mr. Narhari Amin among others in the capacity of President of the Association have done a commendable job as GCA administrators.
Moreover, GCA is proud owner of historic Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, Motera or better known as Motera Stadium, which has witnessed numerous feats including the legendary Sunil Gavaskar’s 10000th Test run and great Kapil Dev’s record breaking 431st Test wicket. The Motera Stadium hosted its first international Test match in November 1983, played between India and West Indies. And of course, how can one forget, Motera was also witness to batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar’s first double century in 1999.
It is at this very stadium that MS Dhoni led side halted Australia’s winning streak in the ICC World Cup. The defending champions were mesmerized by Yuvraj Singh’s explosive batting in the quarterfinals of 2011 World Cup.
Meanwhile, the historic Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium Motera is undergoing redevelopment. Capacity of the stadium will be doubled. More than a lakh cricket fans will be able to watch a live match inside the stadium at a time. The stadium should be ready by 2019.
GCA boasts of having produced eight international cricketers - Deepak Shodhan, Nari Contractor, Rusi Surti, Jasu Patel, Dhiraj Parsana, Parthiv Patel, Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah - till date. It has also hosted a few international players including Rudra Pratap Singh, a guest player in current Ranji Trophy team.
