Cricket academy set to become a reality by June

MANGALORE: Come June, the first cricket academy in this part of the state will become a reality on three acres of land belonging to Sahyadri Institute of Technology and Management (SITAM) at Adyar on the outskirts of the city. The work of laying six turf wickets has already been completed and the cricket academy, managed by Dakshina Kannada Cricket Association (DKCA) in association with Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), will be functional once the grass sowing process is completed. Srikanth Rai, president, DKCA told STOI that the training for the first batch would commence at Nehru Maidan in the city in April. “The full-fledged cricket academy will be made functional at Adyar once the works of turf wickets and other facilities are completed,” he said.The cricket academy would boost the spirit of cricketers in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, he said. “We would choose only those youths, who have cricketing talent in them and have the capacity to build a noteworthy future in cricket. There will be separate batches for under-14, 16, 19 and 25 age-group categories. The selection of candidates for training will be purely based on their performance and they will be given best training to shape them into best cricketers. Coaches from Bangalore will be invited to train cricketers in our academy,” he said adding that lack of a full-fledged academy should not hurt the prospects of talented youngsters in the region.Earlier, KSCA secretary Javagal Srinath during his visit to the city last year had assured DKCA that the parent body would provide all support to organize cricket coaching camps for the youngsters here. At present, the nearest available turf wicket in the region is at Manipal in Udupi district, and is managed by a private university.