Early buds help cricket bloom in Bhutan

The cup that the Indian states of West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Assam form on the northern tip of north-eastern India is occupied by Bhutan, a country of 7.77 lakh (0.77 million) people and an area of 38,394 kilometre square, just more than half of Sri Lanka.

While cricket in India’s Northeast (that comprises seven states and are very close to Bhutan) has been slow to pick and only recently teams from that region have emerged on Indian cricket’s domestic scene, Bhutanese interest in cricket grew about two decades back when television was introduced.

“Cricket is not too new to us in Bhutan, I would say. It came with the introduction of TV in Bhutan in 1999. I think at that time India had already won the World Cup, and cricket was flourishing there. There had been stars like Kapil Dev and during the time of TV’s introduction in Bhutan, there were the likes of Sachin [Tendulkar], [Rahul] Dravid. That (superstars and cricket) intruded through TV and interest in cricket grew in Bhutan,” says Tandin Wangchuk, a former Bhutan national team cricketer and currently in charge of media relations of the Board of Control for Cricket in Bhutan (BCCB).

The name of the nation’s cricket board clearly suggests the influence of Indian cricket. The Indian cricket board is known as Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Bhutan, though, is in the process of renaming its board as Bhutan Cricket for the sake of convenience.

Wangchuk, who has played for the national team for a decade, says that Indian influence is not a surprise considering that many students from Bhutan go to India to study.

“I did my college from India, studying in Chennai. India is the popular destination for studies for Bhutanese people. Although now things have opened up a bit and a lot of young people are going elsewhere to study too — they are going to Bangkok a lot — India remains a popular destination. A high percentage of people are still going to India to study,” adds Wangchuk.

“Besides students going to India, there are a lot of people from India touring Bhutan. From what I have seen, Bhutan is a very close friend of India. We have a big embassy here. There are things like that. Our officials [who] used to work for India house or embassy, picked cricket from there. Sometimes, they (Indian embassy officials) would have events, those bureaucrats or senior citizens, they’d rent grounds outside and play cricket.”

The BCCB came into existence in early 2000s and soon after formation participated in the first international tournament in 2004 in Nepal.

“It was the emerging nations tournament, and it took place in Nepal. It included Nepal and Maldives besides Bhutan,” says Wangchuk, who was also part of that team and played for the national team from its inception till 2011.

Due to lack of local expertise, Bhutan has depended a lot on foreign coaches. The current head coach, Trishen Nonis, is a former first-class cricketer from Sri Lanka and is on a contract.

“We did have foreign coaches earlier too. We started with foreign coaches from Sri Lanka, around 2003. We’ve had two Sri Lankan coaches. We also had an Australian coach – Baba Sourjah (2003-2007),” adds Wangchuk, whose father was a big fan of Sachin Tendulkar.

Bhutan tried having an own head coach in between with current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Damber Gurung serving in the capacity.

Cricket grounds, where are they?

One of the biggest problems for Bhutan is lack of cricket grounds in a region where it is most popular.

Western Bhutan has the maximum number of players and interest. It is also the region where the national capital, Thimphu is located.

But the international-level ground is located in Gelephu in southern Bhutan. It becomes tough for those in the west to travel down south to Bhutan.

“The biggest problem for Bhutan cricket is not having a cricket ground. We have been fortunate enough to be given a ground which is almost ready. But the thing is that international-[level] ground is right down in the south but the cricket playing population is in the west,” adds Wangchuk.

“There are two grounds in Thimphu, one belongs to a private school and the other one falls under the army. We have to seek their permission to use their ground. So there is one ground where we hold our tournaments – it falls under the army. That is not ours. They won’t [always] give it to us. The other one is the school ground which we use for tournaments too. These grounds are in the capital, Thimphu. For the game to develop further, there is an urgent need for a [separate cricket] ground in Thimphu,” adds Wangchuk.

Jigme Singye, who is the current captain of the Bhutan national team and is a lawyer by profession, says the same.

“A cricket lover in Bhutan can practice and stay in touch regularly as long as it is just the net sessions. And for those living in Sarpang district (where Gelephu is located), where we have a newly established cricket ground, as long as they can find time, it is not an issue. However, those living in other districts, including the capital city Thimphu, find it difficult to keep in regular touch with cricket. The first reason [for it] is that there is no proper cricket ground in the capital city and other districts for matches to be played on a regular basis,” says Singye.

India’s influence on Bhutan cricket is huge. An example of it is Jigme Thinley (sitting, extreme left), representing Sharda University. Image credit: BCCBSingye points out another reason for the lack of access to proper cricket.

“The second reason is that Bhutan cricket board usually conducts two domestic tournaments a year, where each team only gets to play a maximum of five games per tournament. Hence, it is quite a challenge for the majority of cricketers in Bhutan to keep in constant touch with cricket,” adds Singye.

Singye, a cousin of Wangchuk, says that he started playing cricket at the age of 11 when the game was just introduced in the country.

“My fascination with cricket began by chance, when I happened to watch TV and cricket was on. In fact, it were my cousin brothers (Tshering Tashi, one of the founders of Bhutan Cricket, and Tandin Wangchuk) who first encouraged me to pick up a bat. Cricket has been a part of my life ever since,” adds Singye.

Of late, he says the Indian Premier League and other franchise cricket leagues have helped make cricket popular among the youth of the country.

“This (franchise league cricket) is one main reason why people in Bhutan are keen to pick bat and ball,” he says.

Though the pool of quality cricketers is quite small, the national team comprises all indigenous Bhutanese players. Even the clubs there have Bhutanese players.

“All the players from Bhutan are indigenous. The players are properly born and brought up in Bhutan. In the last domestic T20 tournament, we had seven teams. But [overall] the [number of] teams would be around 25-30, including those that have played in the past,” says Wangchuk.

Quite like in many Asian countries – Sri Lanka and Pakistan being prominent examples – the government controls cricket in Bhutan too.

Although in Bhutan’s case, the reliance on government is a lot more. The Bhutan Olympic Committee, a semi-government body, controls and funds cricket in the country. The cricket body though gets most of the funds from International Cricket Council (ICC).

“We have liberty to seek commercial help. We still are at a stage where we are telling people about the sport, [and] making it popular. We haven’t reached [that stage of popularity]. We depend completely on what ICC gives. We get some portion from the government. We also had sponsorship for some tournaments,” adds Wangchuk.

Archery remains the No. 1 sport in the country, according to Wangchuk. Football is the other popular sport.

“Primary sport was archery and football. Archery, in the compound division, is still the No. 1 sport. Most of the kids opt for archery. By the time they turn 20, people start practicing archery. It is an advantage since there is no age bar. You can compete in archery till 60-70 years of age. A huge population is qualified and able to play archery,” adds Wangchuk.

One of Singye’s laments is that cricket doesn’t attract as much attention from sponsors and government as football despite the results being better.

“It is a fact that people in Bhutan love watching cricket, but there isn’t much support for cricketers in Bhutan to feel encouraged. Cricket in Bhutan has always been compared to other sports like football despite the game doing far better than any other sport in the country in terms of international performance,” says Singye.

Equipment is scarce

While availability of grounds or sponsorship are two key problems, there is another. Sourcing of equipment.

“We buy kit and equipment from India mostly. Delhi and Kolkata,” reveals Wangchuk.

Singye says that the equipment provided by the board isn’t top quality largely because of the absence of a cricket equipment shop.

“Whenever there is an international tournament, the team is usually provided with equipment by the [national] cricket board free of cost. But speaking of quality, it isn’t top quality, to be honest. In most of the tournaments, the difference between our equipment and other team’s equipment is huge and it has made a lot of difference for the batsmen in particular. The absence of a cricket shop in the country has influenced the players to depend on equipment provided by the Board. However, there are a few players who are purchasing premium quality equipment from India and some are even getting sponsored.”

Pool of talented players

Singye says that the biggest challenge for Bhutan cricket board is to attract young talent and provide them with opportunities to develop cricketing skills and experience.

“Bhutan cricket board faces many challenges today, but one of them is attracting young talent and providing them with opportunities. There is some great young cricket talent out there, but the boys lack the financial and moral support from parents, so they are sent to schools where cricket is unheard of. I personally feel we have a huge task ahead of us if we wish to make cricket the number one sport in the country,” said Singye.

The skipper says that there are players who can make it to a first-class team in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan or Sri Lanka.

“Bhutan has a few players who are capable of playing first-class cricket. Thinley Jamtsho and Mikyo Rangjung Dorji are the two players in my mind who can make it to a first-class team in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The upcoming players whom Bhutan cricket board is developing and grooming well are Tenzin Rabgay, Namgay Thinley, and Ngawang Thinley.”

Wangchuk, however, says that there is a need for an academy and only after its inception can the standard of cricket be improved.

“We are planning to start an academy down in Gelephu [where we have a proper cricket ground].”

According to him, there are 14 cricketers and a few reserves that comprise the pool of cricketers. “Some are students, some work in government or private offices. One or two are like the district coaches who work for the board.”