Hyderabad Cricket Academy to resume activities soon at Gymkhana grounds

The preparations are in full swing at the Gymkhana as the groundsmen at the Gymkhana are working extra hours

Hyderabad: The Gymkhana ground in Secunderabad is all set to be abuzz with cricketing activities once again as Hyderabad Cricket Academy of Excellence (HCAE) will reopen soon.

The preparations are in full swing at the Gymkhana as the groundsmen at the Gymkhana are working extra hours given the recent rains that lashed the city.

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Adding to that, a new cricket academy that is being planned at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium at Uppal, will provide free coaching to trainees.

“Our goal is to encourage the game of cricket and these two academies will start working soon. It will provide free coaching to the players,” said former CRPF Director General Kode Durga Prasad, who is assisting the Supreme Court-appointed one-man committee of Justice L Nageswar Rao.

He added that the services of the registered players will be utilised during the matches at the Uppal stadium. “There is a requirement of manpower including ball boys and with registered players being used, it will give them the sense of belonging in the game and help them earn money,” he said.

Unlike in the past where only former international cricketers were given the match tickets, Durga Prasad ‘said that all the registered players will receive passes.

To better the viewing experience of the spectators, who shell out for tickets, he promised that the facilities will be improved at the venue. “The LCD screens damaged post rains will be re-installed soon. The water sumps at the stadium were not cleaned for the past nine years while the drainage pipes are leaking at parts of the stadium. The repair works will be done soon,” he added.

The Gymkhana, which has 20 wickets – 16 turf and 4 astro-turf – is likely to get more wickets at the venue. With the academy set to begin its operations, the Durga Prasad-led team earmarked unused space at the Gymkhana to lay seven more wickets.

“We were told that seven more wickets will be laid soon. We don’t know the exact date but we are ready to start the work soon we get a green signal. We are also making 20 wickets ready for the academy. Since it rained heavily, it will take a couple of days to get them ready,” the ground staff said.

‘Limit multiple entry accreditations’

Rachakonda Police Commissioner DS Chauhan said they have written to the Hyderabad Cricket Association suggesting steps to stop the duplication of tickets.

This move follows the fake IPL tickets racket during the Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Mumbai Indians match on April 18. Private vendors, recruited by the Euphony Events & Entertainment, were found to have duplicated IPL tickets using the bar codes provided on the security accreditation cards which have multiple entry points. The Rachakonda police arrested six people in connection with this incident.

The police commissioner suggested HCA to consider using QR codes, which are hard to duplicate, in place of bar codes on the tickets. They have also alerted officials to restrict the issue of accreditation cards with multiple entries

Further, they suggested the event management company to thoroughly check on the background of the personnel prior to the recruitment. They also suggested replacing the old barcode turnstiles at the entry points.