PCA to launch 'Centre of Excellence'

In the backdrop of the recently erupted match-fixing crisis, the game of cricket will soon get a state of the art "centre of excellence" which has been initiated by the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA). The initial investment will be in the order of Rupees five crore.

The Centre of Excellence, to be launched in the beginning of next year, will train young talent from Punjab. In addition it aims to be an academy for overall development of young players. The staff will include a fitness expert, dieticians, physiotherapists and psychologists.

This was announced by PCA President IS Bindra at a press conference last evening after he was re-elected as the PCA chief for the eighth consecutive time at the Association's Annual General Body meeting. The Centre, to be headed by a foreign coach, will begin functioning in the beginning of next year, he added.

Bindra said that professional experts who have individually mastered spin bowling and fast bowling would be the members of the faculty. The project report for this ambitious plan is ready and awaits the final nod of the PCA Executive Committee.

Bindra added that, "there are no proffessional coaches in India," and that was why he planned to appoint a foreign coach. The academy would be a self financing institution and would also provide financial support to cricketers from Punjab, he said. The PCA has also decided in its annual general body meeting to hold 13 state level tournaments in categories including inter-school and inter-college events. "We will be keeping an eye on every district in search of talent in the state", he added, in conclusion.

Besides Mr Bindra, other PCA office bearers elected at the annual general body meeting included MP Pandove as Hony. Secretary (seventh consecutive time), DP Reddy as Hony. Joint Secretary, GS Walia as Hony. Treasure and Dr BC Gupta, Sudhir Mittal, Lalit Modi and Ashwani Kumar Minna (all four as Vice Presidents).

The Executive members included six representatives from the affiliated district asscociations. They are JP Sur (Amritsar), Surjit Rai (Jalandhar), Vinod Chitkara (Ludhiana), RP Pandove (Patiala), Mohinder Singh (Chandigarh) and OD Sharma (Bhatinda).