Coming soon: Cricket academy for young boys

SRINAGAR: Stage is all set for launching the first-of-its-kind cricket academy in Kashmir.

Bandipora Cricket Initiative, an organization floated by young athletes, has decided to set up a cricket academy in the private sector to tap young talent and produce international-level cricketers.

A brainchild of Padma Shri awardee martial arts coach Faisal Ali Dar, the academy will formally be launched after Eid-ul-Fitr. So far 200 young boys have registered for the academy which will have its branches across Jammu and Kashmir.

“We will be creating infrastructure on our own. However, we will be using the grounds of the government and schools. We will develop pitches for training. Our motive is `catch them young’. We want the boys to be properly trained so that they can compete at the national and international level,” Dar told The Kashmir Monitor.

Dar, who heads Ali Sports Academy in Bandipora, has decided to bankroll the academy from its own resources. “Our academy will finance the project. We will buy equipment and keep it in the academy. Players will be allowed to use the equipment during practice. We will not be providing the individual kits to the players given our precarious finances,” he said.

The academy will only be training boys between the age of eight and 12. “Cricket is a game which all kids start playing in childhood. Even when a child starts walking, the first gift his parents gift him is a plastic bat and a ball. However, our boys lack proper training. They may be playing the game but they can’t compete. It has become a roadside cricket. No rules, no regulations. Only batting and bowling. This hampers the progress of talented boys. We want to teach them the right things so that they could play professional cricket,” he said.

Al the training and equipment will be free. “We will be charging a token amount of Rs 100 per year. Everything will be free. We also plan to provide hostel facilities. However, we may charge for that,” said Dar.

Initially, the academy will rope in senior and retired players for coaching. “We will utilize their services. Later we will consider hiring coaches. It only depends on our finances and sponsors,” said Dar.