VIJAYAWADA: Narsapur MP and general secretary of Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) Gokaraju Ganga Raju has said that works pertaining to the state-of-the-art ‘ACA International Cricket Stadium’ at Amaravati Township in Mangalagiri will be completed soon.
Speaking at a press conference here Sunday, he said that a club house and an indoor practice nets were being set up at the stadium.
He also said that a One-Day International (ODI) match between Indian and West Indies was allotted to ACA and it would be held at Dr. YSR ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium at Visakhapatnam in October or November this year. He thanked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for allotting the ODI mark the completion of 60 years by ACA.
Recalling the tough phase that the ACA had gone through in the past, he lauded the efforts of ACA members for their consistent contribution to the association. He also stated that ACA was the first BCCI member to have four academies which includes an exclusive Women’s Academy at Guntur.
Ganga Raju said that all the 10 districts barring Srikakulam, East Godavari and Kurnool had their own playfields with all the basic requirements of dressing rooms, dining halls and other amenities. “Our objective is to acquire land for playfields in the remaining three districts by the end of 2015,” he added.
He, along with the ACA members, released a postal stamp of ACA to commemorate its Diamond Jubilee.
Ganga Raju said that the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of ACA would be held on August 9 and 10 at Visakhapatnam in which former Test cricketers VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath and International Cricket Council (ICC) president N Srinivasan will be the guests of honour. “All the former office- bearers of ACA, umpires, coaches, video-analysts, scorers and curators will be honoured,” he added. Director, cricket operations, ACA and former India stumper MSK Prasad said that efforts would be made to improve the standards of cricket in all parts of the state. He also said that several English county clubs were willing to enter into tie-ups with ACA.
Presidents of district cricket associations under the purview of ACA, including BJP floor leader in the Assembly P Vishnu Kumar Raju, and all other ACA members were present.