Reports | Motera stadium to serve as venue for India’s biosecure training camp

With under two months left for the commencement of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Indian players would need to get going and start training, having not trained as a group since the pandemic broke out in March, and it is now believed that the newly-renovated Sardar Patel stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad will serve as the venue for the same. According to News18, newspaper Bangalore Mirror reported that, according to a source in the Gujarat Cricket Association, a total of 26 Indian players and 18 support staff members will train at the newly constructed stadium in Motera in a bio-bubble. It is believed that the BCCI were split in choosing between the Motera stadium and Dharamsala as the biosecure venue to resume training, but went ahead with the Sardar Patel stadium due to its wide range of facilities post renovation. 

Should India resume training, they would become the eighth international side to do so, after England, West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Ireland and Bangladesh. While a group of Indian players have trained individually at outdoor facilities in the last month or so, lockdown restrictions across the country has meant that no group training has been possible. With IPL chairman Brijesh Patel confirming that the 13th edition of the tournament would be held in UAE between September 19 and November 8, it would be imperative for the players to start training as soon as possible. 

However, it also remains to be seen if the Indian players will train together and then join their franchises or will directly start training camps with their respective IPL Franchises. A franchise official had earlier told PTI that plans were being made to arrange training camps for the IPL teams from mid-August. 

The Motera stadium, which underwent complete renovation and is now the largest cricket stadium in the world with a capacity of 1.2 lakh, surpassing the MCG in Australia, was re-inaugurated in February this year by US President Donald Trump alongside India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The stadium was renovated at an estimated cost of around $100 million and it is set to have four dressing rooms and over 70 corporate boxes.