After much thought and deliberation, the National Cricket Academy (NCA) Board has picked Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) president and former India cricketer Brijesh Patel as the new director of the academy.
The NCA Board headed by TC Mathew, president of Kerala Cricket Association, met on Friday to discuss the revamp plan. The Board felt the need to appoint a high-profile person who has a better knowledge and understanding of the functioning of the academy.
Patel, who had already functioned as director of the academy between 2001 and 2004, thus became the front-runner for the post. And the fact that the NCA is located inside the Chinnaswamy Stadium complex in Bangalore, also the head office of KSCA, made the decision easier.
Confirming the appointment of Patel, Mathew told TNIE, “The NCA Board has chosen Patel as the director considering he has first hand experience of the job. We were looking for someone from Bangalore to take care of the day to day activities and Patel is just around the corner in his KSCA office. Though it took some time, we have got the right person and things will move swiftly now on.”
With Patel’s appointment, the NCA Board has taken its first major step towards the revamp plan which will be carried out once a new coach is appointed. Mathew also said that the responsibility of finding a suitable coach has been handed over to Patel.
“Some of the names have been put forward and he will examine them before naming one. The England Cricket Board and Cricket Australia have agreed to send coaches from the respective acadmies to work here. And the exchange programme now will see them working with our U-19 and emerging players,” Mathew added.
The NCA will also put in place a new schedule for the U-19 and emerging players once the new coach takes charge. Though the earlier plan was to appoint new coaches for the zonal academies, the NCA Board has stuck with the existing coaches. “As of now we are continuing with the zonal coaches because we don’t want to make changes all of a sudden. They have not had the chance to function freely so we will continue with them,” Mathews added.