The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has plans to transform the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore into a state-of-the-art facility on the lines of Cricket Australia’s High Performance Centre in Brisbane.
The BCCI plans to spend more than Rs 100 crore on the project.
On Wednesday, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and other newly elected office-bearers met the NCA members, including head of cricket Rahul Dravid. The detailed project was shown to the BCCI brass through a PowerPoint presentation.
Sourav, along with NCA officials, also visited the proposed land for building a new NCA facility near Bangalore. The land is a stone’s throw away from the Kempegowda International Airport in Devanahalli.
The proposed NCA project should be adequate to accommodate three grounds, indoor nets, administrative buildings, and the residential complex. The allotted land is believed to be on a 99-year lease.
Work is already underway and the NCA authorities are planning to make a start by January end.
Sourav did put in his views and necessary modifications were carried out to the project, an official said.
The proposed NCA is built on the Australian model where the national senior team support staff work closely with their National Cricket Centre, sports science and sports medicine unit and state associations in the development of the contracted players.
There will be separate programmes for the A team, U-19 and U-23 sides. There will also be a residential programme designed for the talented and rookies. “There are also plans to assist each player to realise their potential. Players will begin at the bronze level and earn promotion to silver and gold on the basis of their performances,” a source told The Telegraph.
“The facilities at the NCA like the Australian High Performance Centre will include gym, recovery pool, 40m cricket training nets with analytics technology and access to sports science,” the source said.
“The NCA will include sports doctors, physiotherapists, strength & conditioners, dietitians, psychologists and biomechanists... It will look after the players’ mental and physical preparation and aim to reduce injuries.
“If a batsman has a problem with technique or a bowler with his action, the NCA will have all facilities to address it. Bowlers with suspect action can also get corrected here. The presence of Dravid will only make things easier.
“There could also be some more high profile appointments as consultants. Sourav is hell bent on using Dravid in the best possible way,” the source said.
