The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to unveil their new National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru next month and make it available for Olympics-bound Indian athletes. The BCCI Secretary Jay Shah revealed that the new facility will be available for Neeraj Chopra and other Olympic sportpersons.
The new NCA is expected to be operational from next month and is believed to have state-of-the-art facilities. As revealed by Jay Shah earlier, the new facility will also be equipped with three international-size grounds and 100 pitches, including 45 indoor. The new facility will also provide an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a modern rehab centre for the injured athletes.
While talking to the Times of India, Jay Shah confirmed that the new NCA will be available for Olympic athletes. Many Indian athletes, including Neeraj Chopra, have previously preferred foreign coaches and training centres to prepare for international tournaments but will benefit significantly if the BCCI opens NCA's doors for them.
Jay Shah also explained the need for a new National Cricket Academy and said that it was unfortunate for the world no.1 cricket team to run the previous facilities from the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
"After I took over as the secretary in October of 2019 October, a lot of time went towards holding the IPL, because of the pandemic," Jay Shah said. "The office was shut for two years. When we got the second term (in 2022), we decided that we have to take this project forward. The foundation was laid in my first term.
"We wanted to make the best use of what we got on a platter. In 2008, we got that land and I don't know why my predecessors didn't use that. I am lucky that it was in my destiny to raise the academy. It was unfortunate that we had to run the National Cricket Academy (NCA) from the Chinnaswamy Stadium. We're No. 1 in finances, No. 1 in marketing and we're No. 1 in cricket also. If you look at the ranking, we are No. 1 in two formats and No. 2 in one format. Earlier we were No. 1 in all three formats."
