The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) is developing infrastructure in mofussil areas to nurture talent in such centres. In this regard, cricket academies have been set up in Mysore, Hassan and Hubli-Dharwad. Some more are coming up in other parts of the State.

Addressing presspersons here on Monday, Anil Kumble, Honorary President of KSCA, said the objective of the association is to ensure that talent at the grass roots level gets the right infrastructure and training.

Javagal Srinath, Honorary Secretary of KSCA, said Royal Challengers-KSCA Cricket Academies have been set up in several centres in the State. Three more such academies would come up Chikmagalur, Raichur and Belgaum in the next three months.

Giving the details of infrastructure development in Karnataka cricket, Srinath said KSCA has developed three turf pitches at Alur near Bangalore. The aim was to develop Alur as a centre of excellence for cricket, he said.

Two academies have been set up Mysore and one in Hassan. (Kumble and Srinath were in Mangalore to inaugurate the Royal Challengers-KSCA Cricket Academy at the Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management.)

The cricket academy at Shimoga would be inaugurated soon, he said, adding the results of these academies would be seen in the next four to five years. KSCA academies provide facilities such as turf wickets and green outfields for practice, he said.

Giving an example of a technology initiative of KSCA, Srinath said the cognitive video-based coaching system of KSCA in Bangalore allows players to work on their flaws during the practice session. This system provides high-quality pictures for analysis, he said.

The RC-KSCA Cricket Academy has 345 players and 22 coaches throughout Karnataka. The academy believes in maintaining the originality of the player and uniformity in coaching, he added.

>vinayak.aj@thehindu.co.in

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