HCA unveils district academies plan to strengthen cricket in Telangana

The Hyderabad Cricket Association has announced a District Academies Development Plan to build a structured cricket ecosystem across Telangana. The initiative includes four District Centres of Excellence and eight District Academy & Ground facilities to identify, train and develop talent for higher levels

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Cricket Association has formulated a District Academies Development Plan at a broad level, aiming to create a structured, multi-tiered cricket development ecosystem across the state, according to HCA Secretary M Jeevan Reddy.

“This plan establishes two distinct categories of cricket development facilities – four District Centres of Excellence positioned strategically across the state, and eight District Academy & Ground facilities that provide access and opportunity at the local level,” he informed the media on Monday.

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“The placement of facilities has been designed to ensure maximum reach and accessibility across the state of Telangana. One full-fledged District Centre of Excellence will be established in each geographical region of Telangana – North Telangana (Jagtial), South Telangana (Nagarkurnool), Central-East Telangana (Suryapet) and West Telangana (Zaheerabad),” the HCA Secretary said.

“The HCA will also set up District Academy & Ground facilities at eight centres in Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahabubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Warangal and Nizamabad,” he said.

“A total area of around 15 acres, capable of hosting live-broadcast matches such as TG20, with space to accommodate parking requirements, temporary stands and other facilities, a full-fledged cricket ground with a match-ready outfield, a separate full-fledged practice facility with different types of pitches – turf, matting and cement, floodlights covering both the main ground and practice facilities, and residential accommodation as per BCCI standards, with separate wings for men and women along with mess and canteen facilities, will be ensured,” Jeevan Reddy said.

The HCA Secretary said that qualified and certified coaches would be appointed at all academy locations, along with ground and maintenance staff, administrative personnel, analysts and support staff.

“The district-level players will be identified and developed through the District Academy & Ground facilities, promising players will be transitioned to District Centres of Excellence for residential training, the academy system will feed directly into HCA’s league structure and state team selection pathway, open trials will be conducted to identify new talent from across all districts, and a monitoring and review system will be implemented,” the HCA Secretary said.