The Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA), headquartered in

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known ...

, is the governing body of

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

in the state of Rajasthan. RCA administers the game of cricket in the Indian state of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

. The Rajasthan Cricket Association was founded in 1931 at

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "' ...

and was earlier known as the Rajputana. It officiates over the state level cricket in Rajasthan and the

Rajasthan cricket team The Rajasthan cricket team is a cricket team which represents the Indian state of Rajasthan. The team won the Ranji Trophy in the 2010–11 and 2011-12 seasons, having finished runners-up eight times between 1960–61 and 1973-74. It is currentl ...

. It selects the cricket team of the state of

to play in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

first class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

, namely the Ranji Trophy, the Vijay Hazare trophy and the

Duleep Trophy The Duleep Trophy, also known as Mastercard Duleep trophy due to sponsorship reasons, is a domestic first-class cricket competition played in India. Named after Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji of Nawanagar (also known as 'Duleep'), the competition wa ...

. Vaibhav Gahlot is the incumbent President of the RCA. The Rajasthan Cricket Association is officially recognized by

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the world ...

(BCCI) and affiliated to it.

History

Formerly known as Rajputana, the Association was renamed to Rajasthan Cricket Association after the formation of the State of

in 1956. Headed by Bhagwat Singh Mewar until 1972, it was controlled by the Rungta family from 1972 to 2004. Promulgation of a Sports legislation by the

Government of Rajasthan The Government of Rajasthan is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Rajasthan and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Rajasthan, a judiciary and a legislative. Jaipur is the capital of Raja ...

resulted in

Lalit Modi Lalit Modi (born 29 November 1963) is an Indian businessman and former cricket administrator. He was the founder, first chairman and Commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL), and ran the tournament for three years until 2010. He also ser ...

beating Rungta in the first ever contested election in 2005. Former IPL chief Lalit Modi created a world-class infrastructure in Jaipur, restructuring the stadium and cricket academy. Changing political equations saw

lose by a wafer-thin margin to Sanjay Dixit in 2009. The Association was headed by CP Joshi as president and Sanjay Dixit as the Secretary. Lalit Modi won the election again in 2013, however legal disputes have marred his team's functioning in the last 2 years. Rajasthan Cricket Association's

won the Ranji Trophy in 2011 for the first time in the 77-year history of the tournament, by beating

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

on 15 January 2011 at

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capita ...

. They gained another title win in the 2011/12 seasons. Prior to this, Rajasthan had finished runners-up eight times between 1960 and 1974.

Finance

In a move to honor and help former Ranji players who have represented Rajasthan in the past, the RCA declared a monthly pension scheme for former players wherein players who have played 5 to 14 matches will be given Rs. 5,000 per month while players who have represented Rajasthan in 15 to 24 games, will be given an amount of Rs. 7,500. The

(BCCI) gives monthly pension to players who have played at least 25 first-class games, hence this decision from the RCA comes as a godsend for former Rajasthan players who haven't represented their state in 25 first-class matches.

Administration

Vaibhav Gahlot is the incumbent president and Mahendra Sharma is the secretary of Rajasthan Cricket Association. Various district cricket associations of Rajasthan are affiliated to the RCA.

Future development

RCA do not have its own stadium like other most of the Indian state cricket boards have. It organize its domestic and international cricket matches at

Sawai Mansingh Stadium The Sawai Mansingh Stadium is a cricket stadium in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. It was named after Sawai Man Singh II, the former Maharaja of the state of Jaipur. It is situated at one corner of the PKMB. The stadium seats 30,000. As of July 2013 ...

, it is owned by the government of Rajasthan. On 5 February 2022 Rajasthan Cricket Association laid the foundation stone for its own cricket stadium. The stadium is planned to complete in 3 years. This stadium is going to be built near Jaipur-Delhi bypass Highway outside Jaipur in Chonp village. It is 25 kilometers away from Jaipur. It will have two practice grounds, which can be use for Ranji trophy matches. As per the RCA president Vaibhav Gahalot, this stadium will be world's third largest cricket stadium with 75,000 seating capacity. It will be the third largest cricket stadium in the world after

Narendra Modi stadium The Narendra Modi Stadium (Gujarati: નરેન્દ્ર મોદી સ્ટેડિયમ; Hindi: नरेन्द्र मोदी स्टेडियम), formerly known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium is a cricket stadium ...

and Melbourne Cricket Ground if compared on seating capacity. The estimated cost for the stadium is 300 cr. rupees.

References

External links

Rajasthan Cricket Association website
* {{BCCI Members Cricket administration in India Organisations based in Jaipur Cricket in Rajasthan 1956 establishments in Rajasthan Sports organizations established in 1956