BCCI to invest whopping ₹500 crore for replacing NCA with Centre of Excellence: Report

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are planning to replace the National Cricket Academy (NCA) with a new Centre of Excellence. According to recent media reports in India, the new Centre of Excellence will have pitches similar to those found in Australia, New Zealand and England. The grounds will also have superior artificial intelligence, medical facilities among others in multiple grounds meant for hosting tournaments.

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Rahul Dravid to oversee BCCI’s Centre of Excellence project

Former Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid is currently the director of NCA. According to reports, the legendary cricketer himself will be actively involved in the project. The project to replace NCA with a Centre of Excellence is estimated to cost BCCI around ₹500 crore. A BCCI official recently gave an announcement stating that right now, there is no specific amount assigned for the project.

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The BCCI official also went on to add that according to early stages of blueprints, the project will indeed cost around ₹500 crore. He said the work on the project is already in full swing under the new BCCI administration. The official said a lot of work will be put into the nature of pitches by citing the examples of using various clays and soil to make hybrid pitches.

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Their attempt is to replicate pitches found in countries like Australia and England where they can organise various zonal matches. In all, there are four grounds currently planned to be built at the Centre of Excellence. Apart from zonal games, these grounds will also host various domestic tournaments and warm-up cricket matches.

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