Tripura Chief Minister Prof. Dr Manik Saha on Sunday said that the work of the state’s first international cricket stadium at Narsingarh is likely to be completed by December this year.

Addressing an event at Kamalpur in Dhalai district, the Chief Minister emphasized that there should not be any politics involving players.

Dr Saha said this after inaugurating the K.C. Girls’ School Cricket Ground and the celebrity T10 exhibition match between Tripura Cricket Association (TCA) and Bengal Tigers at K.C. Girls’ School Ground.

He said that today is truly a happy day and history is being scripted in Kamalpur.

“This is a great day for the people of Kamalpur. When I was the president of TCA, I heard that the stadium was being constructed incorrectly in 2017. I visited it two to three times. It was under construction in an unplanned way. I created pressure on those who were engaged in the construction. But it is due to the present committee of TCA that we have been able to inaugurate it today,” said Dr Saha.

He said that there had been a lot of politics surrounding cricket.

“There were many people who played cricket very well but never got a chance due to politics. Some people even played the Ranji Trophy through political influence. During the previous government, preference was always given to their own people, while talents were ignored. That is why the government changed in 2018 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There should not be any politics with players. We must respect talent, and I want to thank the TCA. While selecting players, we must focus on talent and not on party affiliation. We have also given jobs based on merit and through transparency. The opposition uses their party workers to create confusion among the people,” said Dr Saha.

He also informed that the state government will construct such fields across the state.

“We do not lack talent, but practice is essential. Even during the construction of the international stadium, politics was involved. The CPIM government was a master in creating problems, and we are solving those problems. Recently, there was an event at MBB Stadium and I was informed that by December this year, the work of the international stadium is likely to be completed. International-level players will come here and play,” he added.

Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Tinku Roy, MLA Manoj Kanti Deb, Upananda Debbarma, TCA Vice President, Subrata Dey, TCA Secretary, TCA Advisor Tapan Lodh, Dhalai District Magistrate, and Superintendent of Police were present.