The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA), headquartered at

Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is the only city to ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, 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 st ...

in the Indian state of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second ...

and the

Madhya Pradesh cricket team The Madhya Pradesh cricket team is a domestic cricket team based in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It competes in the Ranji Trophy. History Holkar cricket team A Central India team competed in the Ranji Trophy between 1934–35 and ...

. The board was formed in 1940 as the

Holkar The Holkar (Pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ dynasty was a Maratha clan of Dhangar origin in India. The Holkars were generals under Peshwa Baji Rao I, and later became Maharajas of Indore in Central India as an independent member of the M ...

Cricket Association. It is one of the Cricket Governing provincial units affiliated with the

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 worl ...

. MPCA is one of the oldest affiliates of the BCCI – since the 1940s. In the recent past, MPCA has contributed to the careers of Indian cricketers like Col. C.K. Nayudu, Capt. Mushtaq Ali,

Narendra Hirwani Narendra Deepchand Hirwani (born 18 October 1968) is a leg spin bowler who played for India. He is mainly remembered for his success on his Test debut. Early days Hirwani came from a well-off family in Gorakhpur. He belongs to the sindhi Hindu ...

, Rajesh Chouhan, Amay Khurasiya,

Naman Ojha Naman Vinaykumar Ojha (born 20 July 1983) is an Indian former cricketer. He represented India in International cricket. He made his Test debut for India against Sri Lanka on 28 August 2015. He retired from all formats of cricket on 15 February ...

, etc. MPCA is a regular participant in all domestic tournaments conducted by the BCCI. MPCA is the only provincial unit in India that have two International venues under their control. Both venues have contemporary facilities for the International cricket matches. As far now, MPCA has hosted 22 One Day International games and 2 IPL matches. Till 2001, Nehru Stadium was the venue for hosting ODI as

. The first-ever

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

Final under floodlights was played at Capt. Roop Singh Stadium in April 1997. The

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

ODI in December 2011 saw Virender Sehwag shattering the opponents while he reached the majestic figure of 219 runs. MPCA associated with two of the milestones in the cricketing career of

Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-sco ...

. He scored his ten thousandth run during the ODI played at

against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

in 2001 and became the first male cricketer to score a double century in ODI against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

in 2010. The recent score of 219 runs by Virender Sehwag. Before the

Lodha Committee The Lodha Committee was appointed by the Supreme Court of India on 23 January 2015 to analyse and recommend implementable actions for improving the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), assess the quantum of punishment for Gurunath Meiya ...

Reforms, the Association was led by Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Sanjay Jagdale and Milind Kanmadikar who had to discontinue due to disqualification conditions as per Lodha Reforms.

History

Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association is a body controlling and governing the game of cricket in the State of

. MPCA is an affiliated unit of the

(BCCI). A look at the transition of MPCA will take us back to the year 1932 when the Central India Cricket Association came into existence. Later on, the Holkar Cricket Association from 1940-41 to 1954-55,

Madhya Bharat Madhya Bharat, also known as Malwa Union, was an Indian state in west-central India, created on 28 May 1948 from twenty-five princely states which until 1947 had been part of the Central India Agency, with Jiwajirao Scindia as its Rajpramukh. ...

(1955 – 57) and subsequently the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association since 1957 till date. Before the Indian Independence, Indore, earlier known as

, was a princely state under the control of the

Dynasty.

was the hub of cricket activities during that era. Late HH Maharaja

Yeshwantrao Holkar II Maharajadhiraj Raj Rajeshwar Sawai Shri Sir Yeshwant Rao II Holkar XIV Bahadur (6 September 1908 – 5 December 1961) was the Maharaja of Indore ( Holkar State, now in present-day Madhya Pradesh) belonging to the Holkar dynasty of the Marath ...

Indore State Indore State, also known as Holkar State, was a kingdom in India. Its rulers belonged to the Holkar dynasty. After 1857, Indore became a 19- gun salute Maratha princely state (a rare high rank) under the British Raj. Indore stat ...

was a great cricket aficionado and was keen to extend royal benevolence to cricket and upcoming cricketers. To boost up the local cricket set-up, he invited prominent players like Col. C K Nayudu,

Bhausaheb Nimbalkar Bhausaheb Babasaheb Nimbalkar (12 December 1919 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian cricketer, best known for his score of 443 not out during the 1948–49 Ranji Trophy, which remains the highest score, and the only quadruple century, in ...

, Chandu Sarawate, C S Nayudu,

Khandu Rangnekar Khanderao Moreshwar 'Khandu' Rangnekar (27 June 1917, in Bombay – 11 October 1984, in Thane, Maharashtra) was an Indian Test cricketer. Rangnekar was an attacking batsman who was considered the best Indian left-hander of his time. He was a g ...

Hiralal Gaekwad Hiralal Ghasulal Gaekwad (29 August 1923 – 2 January 2003) was an Indian 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, ...

and Kamala Bhandarkar to play cricket for his team – The

s. Capt. S

Mushtaq Ali Syed Mushtaq Ali (; 17 December 1914 – 18 June 2005) was an Indian cricketer, a right-handed opening batsman who holds the distinction of scoring the first overseas Test century by an Indian player when he scored 112 against England at Old Tr ...

, Major M M Jagdale, J N Bhaya were the local talent in his team. He also offered them job opportunity in his army. He was, perhaps, the only royal head who continued to extend necessary support to cricket and the cricketers but never played the game himself. Col. C K Nayudu was the captain of the Indian side for the first ever test played in the year 1932 against England. The batting elegance of

Syed Mushtaq Ali Syed Mushtaq Ali (; 17 December 1914 – 18 June 2005) was an Indian cricketer, a right-handed opening batsman who holds the distinction of scoring the first overseas Test century by an Indian player when he scored 112 against England at Old ...

can be gauged from the fact that he was the first Indian to score a Test century on the foreign soil, against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

in 1936). These great cricketers played a pivotal role in the development of the game in this part of the country. With enthusiastic support from the local players like

, Madhavsinh Jagdale, J N Bhaya, Rameshwar Pratap Singh and other, the

team appeared to be invincible. During the period of fifteen years from 1940-41 to 1954-55, the Holkar team won the coveted

on four occasions – 1945/46, 1947/48, 1950/51 and 1952/53. Moreover, they were the runner-up on six occasions in 1944/45, 1946/47, 1949/50, 1951/52, 1953/54 and 1954/55. This breathtaking record just suggests the strength of the Holkar team. Subsequently, the end of

era created a vacuum in the Madhya Pradesh Cricket for a few years. Though good cricketers were emerging on a regular basis, the team could not perform consistently. Players like Bhagwandas Suthar, Subodh Saxena, Sanjay Jagdale, Narendra Menon, Ashok Jagdale, Vijay Nayudu, Syed Gulrez Ali, Manohar Sharma, Ashwini Chaturvedi gave a glimpse of their talent and were amongst the leading domestic players knocking for a berth in the Indian side. With the support from BCCI and the influx of young players, the MP team started performing as a cohesive unit and qualified regularly for the knock-out phase of the Ranji Tournament during the period from 1971 to 1980. However, the team could not replicate the winning performance of the Holkar team. Efforts on part of MPCA helped in laying of the development pathway for the next generation of cricketers. Regular tournaments, upgradation of infrastructure, talent identification processes, appointment of seasoned coaches, services from professional players and such other measures were adopted in tandem to reach the desired goals. Players like

Rajesh Chauhan Rajesh Chauhan (; born 19 December 1966) is a former Indian cricketer who played in 21 Tests and 35 One Day Internationals from 1993 to 1998. He was part of the Indian spin trio of Kumble (Leg break) - Raju (Left arm orthodox)-Chauhan (Off bre ...

, J P Yadav, Amay Khurasiya,

to name a few, gained the benefits of these efforts on part of MPCA and marked a place in the Indian cricket with their performances. Late HH Maharaja

Madhavrao Scindia Madhavrao Jivajirao Scindia (10 March 1945 – 30 September 2001) was an Indian politician and a minister in the Government of India. He was a member of the Indian National Congress party. Scindia was the son of Jiwajirao Scindia, the last rul ...

, President – BCCI, A W Kanmadikar, Secretary – BCCI, Late Madhavsinh Jagdale, Sanjay Jagdale,

(All National Selectors), Narendra Menon,

Sudhir Asnani Sudhir Asnani (born 7 December 1960 in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh) is an international cricket umpire from India. He has umpired ten One Day Internationals, four Twenty20 International match and 23 Indian Premier League matches. See also * List of ...

(International Umpires) have emerged from this system. Sanjay Jagdale was secretary of the BCCI from MPCA.

Divisional Association Members

* Gwalior Division Cricket Association *

Ujjain Divisional Cricket Association Ujjain Divisional Cricket Association is the governing body of the Cricket activities in the Ujjain Division of Madhya Pradesh in India and the Ujjain Divisional cricket team. It is affiliated to the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association who is membe ...

* Indore Division Cricket Association * Bhopal Division Cricket Association * Sagar Division Cricket Association * Rewa Division Cricket Association * Jabalpur Division Cricket Association * Narmandapuran Division Cricket Association * Chambal Divisional Cricket Association * Shahdol Divisional Cricket Association

Home ground

* Nehru Stadium,

⁣-hosted 9 ODIs *

Captain Roop Singh Stadium Captain Roop Singh Stadium, is a cricket ground in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. The stadium has hosted 12 ODI matches, the first one was played between India and West Indies on 22 January 1988. The ground has flood lights and has hosted day-night e ...

⁣ – Hosted 12 ODIs. This is the ground where the first double century was scored by

Holkar Cricket Stadium The Holkar (Pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ dynasty was a Maratha clan of Dhangar origin in India. The Holkars were generals under Peshwa Baji Rao I, and later became Maharajas of Indore in Central India as an independent member of the Marath ...

⁣ – hosted 3 ODIs. Virendra Sehwag scored double-centuries in ODIs. Hosted IPL matches. * Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association Ground, Bamhori Renguwan, Sagar * MPCA Cricket Ground, Neemkhera,

Jabalpur Jabalpur is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. According to the 2011 census, it is the third-largest urban agglomeration in Madhya Pradesh and the country's 38th-largest urban agglomeration. ...

* Gwalior Cricket Stadium⁣ – Proposed * Ujjain International Stadium⁣ – Proposed

International umpire

* Narendra Menon *

*Nitin Menon

Divisional Activities

Throughout the ten divisions which come under MPCA, it conducts cricketing activities in all ten divisions on a regular basis. Apart from having International Grounds at Indore and Gwalior, MPCA has its owned Cricket facilities at Sagar, Rewa, Hoshangabad, Morena and Jabalpur.

References

External links

Cricinfo's Complete History of the Indian Domestic Competitions

MPCA Academy
{{BCCI Members Cricket administration in India Cricket in Madhya Pradesh Sports organizations established in 1940 1940 establishments in India