Young cricket aspirants from across the country have chosen the city as their favourite destination to hone their skills in the gentleman’s game.
The IT city is slowly turning into a Mecca for aspiring cricketers. For young aspirants from across the country have chosen the city as their favourite destination to hone their skills in the gentleman’s game. This is primarily because the city sports the best climatic ambience, alongside housing the finest cricket academies.
Fifteen-year-old Furqan Mattoo, who chose to come all the way from Srinagar to Bangalore to attend a 50-day cricket camp, said, “We don’t have any such academies back home, and I have heard a lot about the facilities available in Bangalore. So I am here.”
Mattoo is accompanied by two other cricketers — Shoaib Zahoor and Ahmad Banday from Srinagar.
“It is nearly impossible to play cricket in Bihar during the day. It is so hot in summers that we are forced to stay indoors. But, in Bangalore, I can even come and get trained at noon,” said Shwetabh, who has come from Bihar to attend the camp.
Over the years, the number of wannabe cricketers coming to Bangalore during summers has gradually increased. This year, however, the numbers suddenly shot up, thanks to Team India’s historic triumph in the World Cup.
“The day after India won the World Cup, we enrolled more than 50 trainees. The number was so high that we had to reject several applications,” said Imitiaz Ahmed, director of Imtiaz Ahmed Cricket Academy (IACA).
Ahmed, whose academy is organising its 26th summer camp this year, too agreed that it was the facilities offered in the city that attracted outstation candidates. “Bangalore has always been known for its cricket culture, and we have constantly produced international cricketers. People all across the country are aware of the professional approach that we provide in these camps,” said Ahmed.
Irfan Sait, director of Karnataka Institute of Cricket (KIOC), seconds Ahmed’s opinion.
“In Bangalore, the players can train at any time of the day. And also in many states they don’t have good academies, and here we have facilities like video analysis of each player. For a young cricketer from Bihar or Kashmir, such facilities are something they will never get at home,” he added.
Another reason why outstation cricketers flock to Bangalore is because cricket academies here provide them the advantage of training under lights in the evening.
“Cricketers from states like Jharkhand and Orissa do not get a chance to play under lights. But here, when they come for a summer camp, they can even opt for training under lights,” said Sait.
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