NCA to stay put in Bangalore

NCA to stay put in Bangalore
Hindustan Times


The National Cricket Academy (NCA) will stay in Bangalore. “That is for sure,” asserted Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI chief administrative officer on Thursday.

With the BCCI being allotted 30 acres of land by the Karnataka government some 40 kms from the Bangalore city centre on the Mysore Road, the NCA is expected to shift to the new premises in two years’ time. Or that is what the BCCI expects.

This purchase of land by the BCCI puts to rest all speculations about NCA moving out of Bangalore, either to Chennai or Hyderabad or elsewhere. The NCA currently functions at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium premises in Bangalore, since its inception in May 2000.

BCCI president Sharad Pawar met the Karnataka CM and finalised the land agreement. “The BCCI will buy it from the Karnataka government, the details of which are being worked out,” Shetty said. “The Karnataka government asked the BCCI to submit a project report, which is being prepared,” he added.

Shetty also said that once the allocation is done, the BCCI will invite top architects and have the facility ready within two years.
“There will be an indoor academy with eight nets and residential rooms. There will also be a couple of open grounds, though no stadia,” said Shetty.

Bangalore is the preferred centre for NCA mainly for its weather. “The national camps are regularly held in the NCA. Considering the time of the year they are being held, Bangalore is the ideal place,” Shetty said.