A Cricket Academy With a Cause
About 16 km from Rajkot the academy is a brainchild of Indian Test cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara and his father Arvind Pujara, who is a former Ranji player. It's an academy which has everything it takes to produce India level players but the students don't have to pay any fees whatsoever.
© NDTV
A kilometre long dusty road off the Rajkot Jamnagar highway takes you to a cricket academy spread over six acres of land. And amongst the group of 30 odd young budding cricketers practicing hard is 12-year-old Milan who is knocking at the doors of the Under-13 Saurashra cricket team. Milan's parents cannot afford an expensive cricket coaching but thanks to a unique cricket academy he doesn't have to worry about that.(All the Latest Cricket Updates)
About 16 km from Rajkot the academy is a brainchild of Indian Test cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara and his father Arvind Pujara, who is a former Ranji player. It's an academy which has everything it takes to produce India level players but the students don't have to pay any fees whatsoever.
"We have everything here for producing a quality players and that too without fee. My dream is to play for India one day," says a confident Milan
The academy has a gymnasium, a battery run bowling machine, a well crafted turf, six practice pitches and an under construction rest room apart from an Indian Test connection. The Pujaras built the academy from scratch on a six-acre land on the outskirts of Rajkot. Not only is the world class coaching free, the Pujaras have also taken care of transportation for the kids. The academy provides free conveyance for the children to the venue which is about 16 km away from the city.
"I faced lots of difficulties as a young cricketer, didn't get the right infrastructure, so I wanted these kids who cannot afford it to have a right platform to turn into good cricketers," says Cheteshwar.
About 30 odd young boys, most of whom cannot afford expensive coaching, are undergoing training at the academy, which is about 5 km away from the Saurashtra cricket association stadium.
"I want to scout for more talent from across the state, identify 30 odd talented kids who cannot afford good coaching expensive kits, split them into two groups - one below 15 and another above 15, and then provided them all the necessary facilities here," said Arvind Pujara.
At the academy 24-year-old Ranji player Arpit Vasavada is the perfect example perhaps of the kind of cricketers the academy wants to produce. He is a product of the Pujara academy and has been a part of the Saurashtra Ranji team for a few years.
"Here we have people who want to play real serious cricket..It's a business but the love and passion for the game," commented Vasavada.