Twenty20 has hit the headlines consistently over the last two years, for reasons as varied as India's title triumph in the inaugural world championships two years ago, the success of the Indian Premier League and the rise and fall of the rebel Indian Cricket League.
For the past eight years though, away from the glare and the riches of the high-profile format, an entire parallel infrastructure of Twenty20 cricket has been running successfully, catering solely to the backward classes and the economically weaker sections of society, with matches played out in far-flung villages such as Nabha in Punjab and Fazilka in Rajasthan.
Established in 2001, the Indian Twenty20 Cricket Federation (ITCF), with its headquarters based in Patiala, is registered under the Societies Registration. It registered its trademark and copyrights in 2006. A full-fledged congregation of 32 state units, empowered with its own Anti-Doping Policy and Anti-Corruption Unit, the ITCF has as many as 1,00,000 players currently under its umbrella.
The body categorically states that it's not affiliated to the BCCI or the ICC and is hoping instead that the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs gives them recognition, wherein the certificates awarded by them is accepted by the public sector undertakings and colleges from players under sports quota.
On its website, the ITCF calls itself as the "national governing body for Twenty 20 and Twenty 20 innings cricket in India and the original promoter of T20 Cricket in India." Even so, they have a completely non-confrontational approach as far as the BCCI goes.
"We are making efforts to provide an official platform to the poor sections of society, people who nurse a desire to play cricket in remote areas and tehsils but can't get anywhere near the mainstream because of the high costs involved and the lack of opportunities. This is a federation of the aam aadmi (common man) and what we're doing is not in conflict with the BCCI," says Piyush Rana, founder and secretary general of the association.
"Our federation is on similar lines as the School Games Federation of India. The fact that we are able to sustain ourselves for eight years and going strong says as much about our popularity."Interestingly, Piyush was also a consultant with the Indian Cricket League.
The BCCI had reacted sharply to the formation of the ITCF back when they had started off and has since ignored them. They have, however, gone from strength to strength, managing to generate funds and filling up the stadiums. The federation has a simple membership policy of Rs 600 per annum, and uses the interest accumulated, apart from local sponsorship, to conduct tournaments.
At present, they organise national and zonal tournaments in five categories — U-14, U-16, U-22, U-25 and seniors. Their tournaments are named after famous Indian freedom fighters and are organised on grounds owned by state governments.
Besides the regular state units, the ITCF also includes Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Uttranchal and Chattisgarh under its umbrella — all associates and affiliate members of the BCCI. They have plans, Rana says, to tap into the North East as well.
The federation is also affiliated to the International T20 Cricket Federation based in Florida, USA. The international body has 23 member countries, including Italy, Poland, Japan and Malaysia apart from the regular cricket-playing nations.
The BCCI and the ICC have been doing all they can to tap into the seemingly bottom-less market for the game's shortest version. As it turns out, there's plenty still left over.
