Imphal, Oct. 28: The Summer Set Cricket Club, a local club of Haobam Marak Chingtham Leikai in Imphal West, is going to host a twenty20 cricket tournament from early next year to encourage new talents and promote professionalism among players in the state.

The club has also been holding a cricket tournament in the memory of former journalist, the late A.K. Gyanendrajit Singh, for the last four years.

The club’s founder president Buddha Chongtham said the Summer Set Cricket Club would soon establish a cricket academy on the model of National Cricket Academy in association with Manipur Cricket Association.

He added that the main idea behind the new T20 cricket tournament and establishment of the Cricket Academy was to groom budding talent from the grassroots level and also to infuse professionalism in the players so that in future they may represent the state at the national level.

That was our priority for organising the A.K. Gyanendrajit Memorial Cricket tournament. Gyanendrajit was a star player of the club and we thought this would be a fitting tribute to him, he said.

The Summer Set Cricket Club, which is yet to get affiliated to Manipur Cricket Association, hopes to get their club registered by next year.

Buddha, elaborating on the upcoming 4th A.K. Gyanendrajit Singh Memorial Cricket Tournament, 2008-09, said the tournament is earmarked to begin on December 7 and will continue till January 20 next year. The winner will be given a cash prize of Rs 15,000 while the runners-up team will get Rs 8,000. The Man of the Series will be awarded with Rs 1,500 cash prize and the Man of the Match of the final will be given Rs 1,000 as prize money.