Gen Z cricketers and parents protest at Ekana Stadium seeking three Ranji Trophy teams for Uttar Pradesh

On Sunday a group of Gen Z cricketers and their parents held a protest at Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium demanding that Uttar Pradesh be represented by three Ranji Trophy teams instead of the current single state side. Around 250 young players and parents took part in the demonstration, organised by the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Players Association and the Cricket Association of Purvanchal.

The protesters said Uttar Pradesh’s size makes one Ranji team insufficient to provide fair opportunities across the state and called for the creation of three separate cricket associations to field three Ranji Trophy teams. Arvind Singh, state president of the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Players Association, told PTI that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had previously spoken in favour of having more than one Ranji team in a state as large as Uttar Pradesh. Singh also said the state’s population of around 25 crore warranted three cricket associations and, consequently, three Ranji Trophy teams. The Ekana Stadium demonstration was intended to revive and publicise that demand.

Singh raised concerns about selection imbalances in the ongoing Uttar Pradesh T20 League, alleging players from Purvanchal and central Uttar Pradesh were being overlooked. He said roughly 150 players are part of the six teams in this season of the league, but only 16 of those are from Purvanchal and central Uttar Pradesh. In contrast, Singh provided figures showing 89 players hail from nine districts in western Uttar Pradesh and eight players are from Delhi.

Organisers and participants framed the protest as a push for regional representation rather than solely a political statement. They argued that splitting the state into three Ranji teams would provide clearer pathways into first-class cricket for players from different regions who currently compete for a limited number of places in one team. The association described the demonstration at Ekana as a step to put the issue back into public view.

Protest leaders said they will escalate the campaign unless action is taken. Singh said cricketers across Uttar Pradesh are preparing for what the association called a 'Major agitation' in September, with organisers appealing to 'Gen Z' players to turn up in large numbers. The stated objective of that mobilisation is to press authorities for three cricket associations and three Ranji Trophy teams to broaden access to first-class opportunities.

The movement’s immediate next step is the planned September agitation, which organisers say will involve cricketers from across the state and seek formal recognition for three separate cricket associations and three Ranji Trophy teams. Organisers have urged wider participation from the state’s young players and their families as they take the campaign beyond Ekana Stadium.