Asks CCA-Punjab and CCA-Haryana to merge with UT Cricket Assn in 4 days Deepankar Sharda Chandigarh, July 19 The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has asked the Chandigarh Cricket Associations affiliated to Punjab and Haryana to merge with the UT Cricket Association (UTCA) and form a unified body to represent the city. The decision was conveyed to the respective associations following the July 6 meeting of the Committee of Administrators (CoA). The contesting associations were also given two weeks’ time to decide on the merger. Since no headway has been made so far, the BCCI today extended the deadline by four days. During this period, if the two associations fail to reach an agreement, the CoA will be free to take an independent decision on the grant of affiliation to Chandigarh. "This has reference to the meeting held between the representatives of the Chandigarh Cricket Association (CCA), Punjab, the UTCA and the CoA on July 6. At the time, the members were informed that necessary steps would be taken within a week to merge the CCA (Punjab) and the CCA (Haryana) into the UTCA so that there would be a single unified association... Almost two weeks have elapsed since the aforementioned meeting, but the CoA has not received any confirmation... In the circumstances, a time period of four days from today (July 19) has been given to submit a documentary merger of the CCA (Punjab), CCA (Haryana) and the UTCA," stated the BCCI circular dated July 19. "…if the associations are unable to do so within the stipulated time, the CoA will proceed to pass and issue its final decision on the matter of affiliation of an association from the UT, Chandigarh," the circular added. In March, a two-member BCCI panel had visited Chandigarh and taken stock of the facilities. They also met representatives of the UTCA, CCA (Punjab) and CCA (Haryana). The city has been struggling to get the BCCI affiliation since its formation in 1966 and Chandigarh Tribune on previous occasions had highlighted the issues acting as stumbling blocks in this entire process. BCCI officials first visited Chandigarh to discuss the issue of affiliation in April 2001, but no headway was made then. In 2007, the then Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, General SF Rodrigues (Retd), had requested then BCCI president Sharad Pawar to grant direct affiliation to the city with the purpose of participating in the Ranji Trophy and other recognised tournaments, but to no avail. If the BCCI decides on granting affiliation to Chandigarh, the city teams will be eligible to participate in various national-level tournaments, including the Ranji Trophy, after fulfilling the criteria from the next season. The sports will also allot special grants and conduct matches and national camps, besides setting up academies in the city. International matches might also be allotted to Chandigarh, depending on the fulfillment of terms and conditions set by the BCCI.

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