In a recent development, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) unveiled the new National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru on Sunday, September 29. This will now be known as the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE).
Since its inception in 2000, the NCA has been located at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The new world-class facility centre spans over 40 acres near Kempegowda International Airport, with three top-notch grounds and 86 pitches, featuring both indoor and outdoor training areas.
The three grounds at the CoE are designed with white picket fencing and lush green seating mounds. Ground A, features an 85-yard boundary and 13 well-maintained pitches made of Mumbai red soil in the primary ground. It is fitted with advanced floodlighting and cutting-edge broadcasting facilities.
Grounds B and C function as practice spaces, each with 75-yard boundaries. These two grounds include 11 pitches made from Mandya soil and nine pitches from black cotton soil which was sourced from Kalahandi in Odisha. They also feature a subsurface drainage system which will ensure rapid recovery after rainfall and curtail disruptions to any event.
It also has 45 outdoor net pitches for practice, organized into nine clusters made using Mumbai red soil, Mandya soil, Kalahandi black cotton soil, and concrete pitches. There is a dedicated fielding practice area and six outdoor running tracks with natural grass and Mondo synthetic surfaces next to the nets.
There are eight pitches with premium turfs from the UK and Australia in the indoor, alongside an 80-meter common run-up site. Additionally, it has large, toughened glass panels let in natural light. Integrated cameras are installed to capture training sessions for analytical purposes.
The South Pavilion, covering 45,000 square feet, features one of the largest dressing rooms at nearly 3,000 square feet. It has a jacuzzi, lounge, massage room, kit room, and restrooms. Meanwhile, the Sports Science & Medicine (SSM) Block spans 16,000 square feet and is equipped with top-tier gym facilities. Additionally, it offers an 80-seater meeting room, a coaches’ room, and a 25×12-meter swimming pool. In addition, the state-of-the-art Sports Science & Medicine facility will be accessible to leading Indian Olympians, as BCCI aims to foster growth within the Indian sports ecosystem.
“I am delighted to announce the launch of the Centre of Excellence by @BCCI. The state-of-the-art facility features three world-class playing grounds, a swimming pool, a pavilion, and advanced training, recovery, and medical amenities. This initiative will help current and future cricketers hone their skills, ensuring high performance and a bright future for Indian cricket!,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah wrote on X.
