Ramesh Chandra Patra, president GDCA (extreme right) and other members at a news conference. Picture by Gopal Krishna Reddy

Berhampur, July 13: The Ganjam District Cricket Association (GDCA) has initiated steps to set up a cricket academy exclusively for children.

“The association proposed to set up an academy at Aruapalli spread across 18 acres. Tehsildar of Berhampur has already forwarded the proposal to the district administration,” said GDCA president Ramesh Patra.

“We would acquire the land by depositing the requisite amount. The association proposes to construct a stadium exclusively for cricket. There are many cricket academies at different places including Chandigarh, Chennai, Jamshedpur and New Delhi. But there is no academy for kids anywhere in India,” Ramesh said.

The association, he said, will provide a sophisticated bowling machine within two to three months.

“The bowling machine would help young players of the district to improve their bowling, batting and fielding skills. Youngsters can practise even during the off season once the bowling machine is installed here,” Ramesh said.

“The pitch at Berhampur Stadium is almost complete. We are initiating steps to construct a turf pitch at three more places including Khallikote College Stadium, MKCG Medical College Stadium and the playground of Sanjay Memorial Institute of Technology (SMIT) to provide access to the players to the district’s modern pitches,” he added.

The association has also requested the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to appoint a permanent cricket coach for Ganjam district. “The SAI transferred cricket coach Pallab Dasgupta to Calcutta in 1998 and the post has been vacant since 13 years. The last coaching camp here was held in 1998 under the direct supervision of former India cricketer Eknath Solkar. It’s a pity that the district does not have a coach,” Ramesh added.

He said the association had decided to organise coaching camps at Chatrapur, 22km from here, and Bhanjanagar, 80km from here, in Ganjam district during November and December to enable young cricketers from nearby areas improve their skills.

“Our immediate plan is to send young cricketers of the district to the cricket training centre of the Tata Steel in Jamshedpur under four categories, including under-14, under-16, under-19 and the girls wing. Twenty boys and girls would be sent to Jamshedpur in phases from September to January to get an opportunity to play in a developed field with modern equipment,” he said.