"Thankful to CAB. This experience will help the girls get better:" Nayan Bhutia, Sikkim U-19 Women's team coach on Bengal tour

The Cricket Association of Bengal is hosting the Sikkim Cricket Board's U-19 team for an exchange program between the boards. The Sikkim U-19 Women's team is playing against Bengal U-19 Women's Team at BCA Ground, Kalyani. The tour started with a huge win for the Bengal girls. However, Nayan Bhutia, the Sikkim U-19 Women's Head coach feels, this is an lifetime experience for the girls. He shared his thoughts in an exclusive interview with Sportz Point.

"We are really thankful to CAB President and all the members for making this happen. This is the first time any Sikkim team is making any tour to other states. Even the Ranji team is yet to do so. So, we are very much thankful to CAB. The ground, the facilities, fooding and lodging everything has been top notch," Nayan Bhutia said.

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This is nearly monsoon in Sikkim. So, outdoor practices and matches are not quite possible right now. Therefore, getting match days in this season is quite extraordinary for them. Meantime, the U-19 women's team have never played in big grounds like Kalyani. Moreover, playing 50 overs in this heat is quite an experience for the whole team as well.

"This is a great experience for all the girls. BCCI matches take place in T-20 and 50-over format. So, we wanted to give the girls taste of the 50-over format. This is new for them. Many of these girls are very new to cricket. But, if they can learn from this experience of this tour, this will be beneficial for them as players," the head coach of the team added.

"I wanted them to play all the 50 overs. Playing 50 overs in this heat will make them tougher. So, I told them to bat as long possible. Bengal batted beautifully. They are more experienced site for sure. But if our girls can learn how to survive fifty overs, we will be doing good job," he added further.

Bengal won the first match by 227 runs. Trishita Sarkar scored an unbeaten hundred for Bengal.