Amaravati will get one of the biggest cricket stadiums in India: ACA Secretary, MP Sana Satish

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh’s capital city Amaravati will get one of the biggest cricket stadiums in India. Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) has put the plans to make Amaravati stadium as the prime international stadium of the state on the fast track.ACA has requested the state govt to allocate 40 acres of land in core capital city, Amaravati. “We are determined to make it one of the best international stadiums in the country to attract more international matches to the state,” ACA honorary secretary and Rajya Sabha member Sana Satish told ‘TOI.’ He said that they would require at least Rs.300 crore for development of international stadium with top class infrastructure. Excerpts of an exclusive interview with Sana Satish Q: What are your plans for development of cricket infrastructure in the stateA: We have decided to develop dedicated cricket stadia in all the districts.

Right now, we have good stadiums in Mangalagiri, Mulapadu (Vijayawada), Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and Ananthapuram. We have decided to develop big stadiums in Tirupati, Nellore and Kurnool in the first phase as we have already acquired land in these cities. We wanted to develop cricket grounds in all the districts in next three years as creation of better infrastructure is the big thing for development of cricket and players Q: We already have one international stadium in Vizag which is not getting sufficient matches. Do we really need another big stadium in Amaravati?A: Yes, we absolutely need it. Amaravati will be a multi-event stadium to make it operational all through 365-days in a year.

It will have a capacity of 60000. This is going to be the biggest attraction on the international cricket platform. Q: What will happen to Vizag stadium?A: We are not going to dump it. In fact, Vizag stadium is a 17-year-old and basic infrastructure was completely damaged. We got it renovated in just three months, and bagged IPL matches last season. Stunned by the improvements made by our team, BCCI granted us five women’s world cup matches to Vizag.

It is the only city to get five matches world cup matches (women). Vizag will surely be on our priorities. Q: Any special focus on players trainingA: We have decided to open dedicated academies in the existing stadiums in Vizianagaram (senior men), Ananthapuram (women), Mulapadu (junior men). Each academy will accommodate at least 40-50 players and another 15-20 trainers, coaches, physios. All the selected players and coaching staff will stay there in the academies till the completion of the coaching tenure Q: How ACA wanted to encourage promising players to get national selectors attentionA: We have decided to go for special selection trails in all the districts especially to pick up pacers.

All those who were found bowling with more than 130kmph speed will be brought to academies to provide further impetus. They will also be given the opportunity to play with big teams. Similarly, we are going to scout talented batters and spinners from APL and district level tournaments. Q: How would budding players get exposure on bigger levelsA: We have decided to send our under-19 team to Queensland for bilateral matches. We have already sent four players to English county this year and we will send a complete under-19 team to Queensland for bigger exposure. ACA is the only state board to send its team for overseas exposureQ: ACA was mired in controversies in the past. How would you like to cleanse the systemA: Transparent and good governance is our top priority. All 17 clubs and 13 district units are united, and we will work together to take AP’s future on cricket pitch to the next level.