The Board of Control for Cricket in India inaugurated its new ‘BCCI Centre of Excellence’ institute after acquiring the land from the Karnataka government 16 years ago. It is built on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
While inaugurating the BCCI President Roger Binny and Secretary Jay Shah handed it over to the officials, which will be fully operational by the beginning of 2025, it will be the main centre of the Board where training, sports science, rehab and injury management will be conducted. The National Cricket Academy built at M Chinnaswamy Stadium is also expected to be shifted here.
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This institute is spread over 40 acres of land, with three grounds built as per ICC rules for first-class cricket. Necessary items for indoor training have been imported from England and Australia. There will be 45 pitches. There will also be a separate BCCI Sports Science, Medical Block, and Loading Facility Center here.
The new institute has modern flood lights, a sub-air drainage system, broadcast facilities, and 13 red clay pitches, the soil of which has been procured from Mumbai. NCA chief VVS Laxman is hopeful that A tour matches can be organized here to take stock.
Grounds B and C have practice grounds, with black soil pitches imported from Southern Karnataka and Odisha. The institute has indoor and outdoor athletic tracks, pools and recovery facilities. Seven acres of land has been left for the future.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, Laxman said, “I think it will benefit not only the future generation cricketers but also the current cricketers. Ever since I joined NCA from December 2021, all the cricketers come here, Not just for rehab. It is a misconception that cricketers come only for rehab. But they also come to NCA to improve their skills and prepare for the challenges in the upcoming series.”
“I am sure that all the players who come to this facility, all the players who are part of this program will strive to excel, strive to be the best and in the process the Indian cricket team will potentially be the best in the world across all formats.”
For the longest time, the BCCI has envisioned a center of excellence similar to the ECB facility in Loughborough or Cricket Australia’s facility in Brisbane. The land on which it is built had to go through several litigation hurdles, due to which at one time the BCCI was considering the possibility of moving it outside the city. The project finally received approval in late 2020 and work began in early 2022 after delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
BCCI’s Centre of Excellence, 3 grounds, 45 indoor nets, state-of-the-art facilities ready to roll. Will be operational by year end. #Cricket pic.twitter.com/KoTUs2UjUF
— Manuja (@manujaveerappa) September 29, 2024
What is special in BCCI Centre of Excellence
- It has three international standard grounds. The main ground has an 85-yard boundary and 13 Mumbai-like red clay pitches. The other two fields have a 75-yard limit. There are 11 Mandya soil and 9 Kalahandi black cotton soil pitches.
- The center is equipped with 45 outdoor nets, which are divided into nine clusters with three different clay and five concrete pitches.
- Next to the nets, there is a fielding training area as well as six outdoor running tracks with grass and synthetic surfaces.
- The indoor facility includes eight turf pitches sourced from the UK and Australia and an 80-metre common run-up area.
- The 16,000 square feet gym will have all the latest equipment including sleeping pods. It also has four athletic tracks, a 25-metre swimming pool and other recovery facilities such as a Jacuzzi, sauna, steam bath and underwater pool spa.
- Consists of a hi-tech sports science and medical block. Which houses a physiotherapy rehab gym, sports science and medical labs, as well as dedicated space for education and presentations.
- There are 24 hostels for men and eight for women, with large dining areas. Apart from this, there will be a curated Hall of Fame to showcase the heritage of Indian cricket.
- The sports science and medical facility will be open to prominent Indian Olympians and top athletes.
