BCCI to spend nearly Rs 500 crore for new Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)'s grand project to build a new Centre of Excellence (CoE) to replace the National Cricket Academy (NCA) is likely to cost around Rs 500 crores. With active involvement of Rahul Dravid, the project is likely to take only two years to be completed.
After Sourav Ganguly took charge as the BCCI president, he met NCA chief Rahul Dravid to discuss blueprints for the future of Indian cricket, and one of the project both agreed on is to build a new cricketing structure in Bengaluru to replace the traditional National Cricket Academy, which is now functioning inside the Karnataka State Cricket Association campus. The cost involved in the project is huge as the Times of India reported that the grand project is likely to cost around Rs 500 crores.
"There can't be any specific amount assigned to the project. There will be tenders issued for each work. But going by the initial blueprint that's in place, it is estimated that the project will cost minimally around Rs 500 crore. There will be improvisations to the blueprint. The project is running six months late but with the new BCCI regime in place, work has begun in full swing. BCCI expects the CoE to be functional in another two years. NCA director Rahul Dravid is actively involved," a senior official told BCCI.
The work of Centre of Excellence will go beyond the work used to be performed by the NCA as it will revise its sports medicine approach by tying up with medical institutions and will have four full grounds with pitches which will try to replicate those found around the cricketing world in order make the cricketers ready for overseas tours. The official also revealed that the ground can be used for zonal games and warm-up matches.
"There is a lot of work put into the nature of pitches. Various types of clay and soil will be used for these hybrid pitches to mimic those found in countries like Australia, New Zealand and England. There are zonal games. Touring teams also play warm-up matches and there are other preparatory games organised by the board organizes. The grounds can also be used for domestic tournaments if grounds across the country are not available at any point. There is also an idea to have an NCA team," the official added.
"The BCCI has already got the athlete monitor system and bio-mechanical bowling coach. There are a few more ideas in the pipeline to grow with the modern game."
