Shillong, Apr 29: Six state-of-the-art indoor cricket facilities, including one in Meghalaya, were inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday.
The six are part of the BCCI’s expansion programme for cricketing infrastructure in the North East.
The foundation stone for the Madan Kurkalang centre in Ri-Bhoi had been laid almost two years ago. The other facilities are in Rangpo (Sikkim), Doimukh (Arunachal Pradesh), Imphal (Manipur), Aizawl (Mizoram) and Dimapur (Nagaland).
Modi was in Sikkim’s capital Gangtok where he virtually inaugurated the facilities.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by ICC Chairman Jay Shah along with all the office bearers of BCCI while administrators from the other five North East states joined via video conference.
“This project was conceptualised and driven by the BCCI under the leadership of Jay Shah during his tenure as Secretary, with a clear focus on strengthening cricketing ecosystems in emerging regions,” the BCCI said in a statement.
The academies have been designed as high-performance centres, equipped with indoor practice pitches, high-tech gymnasiums, temperature-controlled swimming pools and dedicated administrative and training blocks.
These facilities will enable year-round training, particularly addressing the challenges posed by extended monsoon seasons in the region and significantly reduce the need for players to travel to other parts of the country for professional training.
(Meghalaya Cricket Association photo)
