CHENNAI : The National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru is expected to be the first stop in Sourav Ganguly’s as BCCI president. He is scheduled to be there on October 30 for a meeting of NCA officials, including director Rahul Dravid and CEO Tufan Ghosh. BCCI joint-secretary Jayesh George is also likely to be present.
NCA is one of the areas which was neglected in the last few years due to the turmoil in the board administration. Until Dravid’s appointment as director a few months ago, there was lack of clarity over the role of coaches and the method of their appointment. Other than that, no decision was taken on the land marked for the relocation of NCA, which has net, training, gym, medical, recovery and rehabilitation facilities under one roof.
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Offered a plot on the outskirts of Bengaluru, BCCI completed the registration formalities for 40 acres in 2017. It paid a sum Rs 50 crore to procure the land. But apart from fencing the plot, not much has been done. With uncertainty over who can take calls on such matters, the land has been lying unused.
"The matter of NCA is one of the tasks facing the new BCCI dispensation. They have started making inquiries and will get a clearer picture of what needs to be done after meeting NCA officials. It’s not certain if Ganguly will visit the site on this trip. But he will definitely speak to Dravid on how to take NCA forward," said officials tracking developments.
The facility at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium used to be run by the NCA board, comprising members chosen by the BCCI working committee. Former BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah was the chairman of the last NCA board before the set-up was changed by CoA.