The National Cricket Academy (NCA) is a cricket facility of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Bengaluru, India, for the purpose of developing young cricketers who have been identified as having the potential to represent the Indian cricket team. It was established in 2000 and is located near the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium[1] The facility is also used for the rehabilitation of injured players.[2]
Former cricketer VVS Laxman is the present director of the NCA.
The facility also works as a rehabilitation center for injured members of India's cricket team. Ravi Shastri, in comments about frequently injured cricketers, sarcastically called some players "permanent residents of NCA", which he said was "not a good thing at all".[4] As of July 2023[update], Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, and Rishabh Pant were admitted to the center.[5]
History
The NCA was the brainchild of cricket administrator and former BCCI President Raj Singh Dungarpur.[6]
In 2000, NCA member and adviser Sunil Gavaskar argued that the NCA team should not have played the visiting Zimbabwe team, saying "I thought it was unfair on the performers who were not given a chance to play first class matches against touring sides".[7] In response, NCA chair Raj Singh Dungarpur said, "Such people should either resign from the committee, or take it on, or fall in line."[7] Gavaskar resigned as NCA committee member thereon.[7][8]
On 16February 2022, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah announced the construction of a new NCA facility near the Bangalore airport. Plans included three cricket grounds, a gymnasium, 40 practice pitches, a swimming pool and rooms for upcoming players.[9]
NCA awards a scholarship to three promising players to visit Australia's Centre of Excellence in Brisbane. The scholarship is named after the legendary Australian and Indian captains, Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar, who both scored more than 10,000 runs in Test cricket.
