The former Hong Kong captain Anshuman Rath has shifted to Nagpur and has registered with the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) as a local player to fulfil his dream of playing for India.
Rath, who has represented Hong Kong in 18 ODIs and 20 T20Is, actually has his roots in India as his family is originally from Odisha. They have been living in Hong Kong for the last couple of decades as his dad has a business there.
There is a reason why Rath chose Vidarbha out of all the BCCI member associations he could have registered with.
According to Rath, the biggest problem he faced in Hong Kong was the lack of proper structure. There is no shortage of cricketing talent there, but because there is no proper structure, it’s difficult for the youngsters to come through the ranks smoothly.
When Rath decided he would move to India, he researched about the member associations and he found out that Vidarbha had a solid structure not just at the first class level, but at the junior levels as well.
Rath insists that associations like Delhi and Mumbai also have good structure, but they are big associations and it might not have been possible for him to make his way into their first teams straightaway.
Keeping all the factors in mind, Vidarbha seemed a good option to him and he signed up.
Rath, however, is not eligible to play first class cricket for Vidarbha at the moment. He has recently been playing for Hong Kong national cricket team and to make the switch to India as a local first class player, he needs to complete a cooling-off period of 12 months.
The 21-year old opener, who can bowl left arm spin as well, is currently plying his trade at the club level in Vidarbha, featuring for MSSC.
