BCCI Announces National Cricket Academy Will Also be Open to Non-Cricketers and Olympians Such as Neeraj Chopra, Confirms Jay Shah

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially unveiled the highly anticipated new National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. In a surprising turn of events, BCCI secretary Jay Shah has declared that the state-of-the-art facilities at the NCA will be accessible to all athletes, including non-cricketers like Olympian Neeraj Chopra. This move is set to revolutionize sports training in the country and ensure that elite athletes from various disciplines have access to world-class facilities.

Shah told TOI newspaper that he had informed this to Neeraj Chopra personally when he met him on the sidelines of Paris Olympics 2024. According to TOI, the facility will have three grounds and 100 pitches, including 45 indoor turfs. A unique feature of the centre is that it has all kinds of pitches, like the ones seen at the Gabba in Brisbane, Kingsmead in Durban or at any other stadium in the world.

“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,” Shah was quoted as saying by TOI.

The new NCA will be inaugurated next month. “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. 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,” the BCCI secretary added.

स्वतंत्रता दिवस की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ। जय हिन्द! pic.twitter.com/Wuz613NgSH

— Neeraj Chopra (@Neeraj_chopra1) August 15, 2024

The BCCI secretary categorically denied that India will be hostng the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 later this year if the tournament needs to be shifted out of Bangladesh due to the recent political turmoil.

“They (ICC) have asked us if we would conduct the World Cup. I have categorically said no,” Shah said. “We’re in the monsoon and on top of that we will host the women’s ODI World Cup next year. I don’t want to give any kind of signals that I want to hold consecutive World Cups.”

Shah also elaborated that the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction was good for ‘growth of the game’. “We’ve heard the views of all the franchises. For us a minority view is as important as the majority opinion. Ultimately the office-bearers (of the BCCI) will decide. Those who have a good side said there is no need for the big auction and those without a good side wanted the big auction. Continuity is important as shuffling, for the growth of the game,” Shah said.