Sports Ministry trashes reports of turning cricketers into baseball players

The Sports Ministry has dismissed rumours about plans to convert cricket aspirants into baseball players for potential medals at the Asian Games or Olympics, clarifying that such proposals were never explored or deliberated at any forum.
Baseball became part of the Asian Games in 1994 and was introduced to the Olympic Games in 1992, but in India the sport's governing body is not recognised as a national sports federation.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
"This is completely imaginary. Baseball is not even recognised by the ministry," a senior source within the ministry told PTI, adding that nothing of that sort was ever discussed at the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) meeting.
"Why will SAI (Sports Authority of India) get into cricket or turn cricket players into baseball players?" the source added. "This was not discussed at the MOC meeting. We are busy ensuring that we improve and build upon sports in which we are doing reasonably well; there is no time to get involved in something like this."
Cricket in India is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which is a standalone body that generates its own funds.
A high-ranking BCCI official told PTI that professional cricketers would not be inclined towards switching to baseball, considering it is not a viable career option when compared to cricket.
"Why would any aspiring cricketer turn to baseball? Is it a commercially viable career option? And especially when you have options like the IPL and state T20 leagues. Even the unofficial tennis-ball leagues are offering close to Rs 40-50 lakh per annum," said the official.
While there is the Amateur Baseball Federation of India that is linked to the sport's international governing body, the federation lacks official recognition from the sports ministry and receives no governmental financial support.