Budding cricketers of Siliguri finally have a turf pitch and a ground for practice on the outskirts of the city that has bred cricketers like Wriddhiman Saha and Richa Ghosh.

Jayanta Bhowmik, Saha’s former coach, and some other cricket enthusiasts have joined hands to curate the ground at Basundhara, a private farmhouse in Dagapur on the northern outskirts of the city.

“We developed the cricket ground at Basundhara to provide a practice ground for players who are 14 years old and above. The facility will help properly train young and promising players who have so far not had a proper infrastructure,” Bhowmick, also a technical committee member of the Cricket Association of Bengal, said.

Bengal has only one international-level cricket stadium, the Eden Garden, in Calcutta.

Siliguri residents have for long been demanding a cricket ground.

Earlier, cricket matches and tourneys were held at Siliguri's Kanchenjunga Stadium. But as the Siliguri Municipal Corporation has taken on the task of renovating the stadium, cricket matches are off limits there.

Bhowmick pointed out that with the stadium no longer an option, they were desperately scouting for a ground where young cricket players could come and practise.

“In July last year, we took up the task to develop the ground at Basundhara. We used special clay from Kalamati, an area near the India-Bangladesh border in South Dinajpur for the turf pitch. We also got Bermuda grass planted across the ground,” he said.

It took almost six months to get the ground ready and in January this year, a cricket tournament for the Under-15 category was organised at the venue.

“Some representatives of the CAB were present during the tournament. They have appreciated the infrastructure that we have built here,” said Bhowmik.

Sujit Raha, who has developed Basundhara, said considering the lack of a proper practice ground for the cricketers, he thought of providing the ground for cricket. “Earlier, youths used to play soccer on the ground. But now, we have developed it for cricket with a turf wicket. I hope this endeavour helps nurture budding cricketers,” said Raha.