In February 2014, Mr. Sham Chotoo, Cricket Commissioner for the Bowie Boys and Girls Club (BBGC), did cricket demonstrations for students in the Howard and Princes George County students. Sham visited many schools for two full days and ignited the passion for cricket in the students. Afterwards, flyers were given to the students who were interested in playing cricket. About 150 students took home flyers to their parents. Twenty students then signed-up to play. Many more students wanted to play, but they were already committed to other sports. In a short timeframe our academy was able to enroll, register and begin training for multiple teams. The teams played the first championship match “BEST Cricket League” in 2014. Many parents volunteered to help with coaching, conducting tournaments and cheer the kids. 

Fast forward to 2019 with 150 Howard County students playing in the BEST Cricket League for elementary school kids, the WAMS Cricket League for middle school kids, and in the MYCA and SAC Cricket Leagues for the more competitive Ellicott City 11U, 12U, and 14U Travel Teams. Some of these players were selected to play for the Maryland 12U, 14U, and 16U state teams in National Tournaments. Ellicott City also has the only all girls leather ball Travel Cricket team in the USA that plays in a local league against other boys teams.

With the rapid growth of youth cricket in Howard County, the BBGC expanded and Howard Community Youth Cricket Board (HCYCB) was formed in 2019 to manage the youth cricket programs in Howard County. HCYCB is an independent group dedicated to the development of youth cricket in Howard County. The board is run solely by volunteers. Its members are the coaches, managers, team moms, and parent volunteers from the school program and travel team program. These volunteers have all worked tirelessly to make the youth cricket program a huge success in Howard County. They do so because they want to make a difference in the lives of kids and have seen firsthand the positive impact that cricket has made on their own children’s lives.

Currently the HCYCB board has appointed Mr. Dharani Puli as the president. Mr. Puli has great passion for cricket and excels in training, mentoring, coaching kids of all ages. Kids enjoy working with Mr. Puli and other coaches that volunteer to train the kids in different age groups. Mr. Puli takes pride and intense interest in managing the program and has provided positive impact to the program. Puli is also an MYCA Executive Board member. Two other key/core members of the HCYCB, who has been working in the background providing management support for media, communication, finance and marketing are  Subhadra Kulkarni and Keerthi Natarajan