Mizoram Embraces Cricket: Captain Lalhruaimawia Ralte Shares His Vision And Challenges

Travelling across India, one often sees children and youth playing cricket in almost every corner. However, the North East stands out as an exception. This region has traditionally embraced football as its primary sport, producing many elite footballers. Recently, though, cricket has started to gain a foothold here.

Reaching Aizawl, Mizoram's capital, from Kolkata by flight takes about 55 minutes. Despite being 1,500 km away by road, flying over Bangladesh brings you to this serene city quickly. Aizawl is predominantly a football-loving city, which can be a pleasant cultural surprise for visitors.

Lalhruai Ralte, the captain of the Mizoram Cricket Team, has been leading his state for around a decade. Born in Aizawl, he fell in love with cricket after watching the 1999 World Cup. Inspired by Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, he began his cricket journey.

"I started cricket after watching the 1999 World Cup. We used to make wood and play like that. I played in the first division and the Mizoram team used to tour in Guwahati, Nagaland. Back in those days, we didn't play domestic cricket. I got selected for Mizoram in 2007 at the age of 16 years," Ralte says.

Ralte recalls practising on football fields where they often had to stop their games because footballers needed the ground. "We used to play in a football ground. And before we finished the match, the footballers used to come and the game is gone. They would get us out of the ground even before the match finished," he says.

The affiliation with BCCI has significantly changed cricket dynamics in Mizoram. Ralte reminisces about their early struggles but acknowledges recent improvements. "Actually, it's a hard journey for especially a new guy. We were struggling a lot, especially the first two years, but now I think we are settling and giving some good performances."

Support from BCCI

BCCI's support has transformed cricket in Mizoram. Ralte appreciates this help as it brought financial security and exposure to better infrastructure for players. "The support [from BCCI] is amazing. We never thought of this kind of support, especially financial support," he states.

Before becoming associate members of BCCI, funding came from the Sports Council with just eight lakhs annually. Now everything is managed systematically by BCCI.

The talks with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma

Ralte shares his experiences meeting top Indian cricketers like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at NCA. He learned valuable lessons from them: "Keep it simple, have patience, and work hard." He notes that while skills differ between Mizoram and elite states, mindset matters most during matches.

Ranji Season Hopes

Mizoram's pre-season will be held either in Delhi or Kolkata due to monsoon conditions back home. Last season saw mixed results; they won against Bihar in Vijay Hazare Trophy and secured victories over Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya in Ranji Trophy Plate Group but lost to Meghalaya in semis.

"Last season we played good cricket," Ralte says optimistically about their future prospects despite setbacks last year.

The sun rises earlier in Mizoram compared to other states; similarly rising steadily is its cricket scene thanks largely due efforts by individuals like Ralte paving way forward into brighter future ahead!