About 150-odd cricketers from North East and other Ranji Plate teams, camping at the National Cricket Academy, got a pleasant surprise when India's football captain Sunil Chhetri dropped in after being invited by the BCCI.
North Eastern states got their first-class status as recently as three seasons back and football is still the most popular sport in the region and the likes of Bhaichung Bhutia and Chhetri are any day bigger icons compared to current star cricketers in states like Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.