Rangpo (Sikkim), April 23 (IANS) BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia on Thursday inspected the newly built indoor cricket academy at the Sikkim Cricket Ground in Mining, Rangpo, ahead of its formal inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 28.

The Rs 23-crore facility, developed within the premises of the Sikkim Cricket Association (SICA) ground, features modern amenities including net practice areas, a gymnasium, a swimming pool, and other infrastructure aimed at raising cricket training standards in the region.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Sikkim on April 28. On that day, the indoor cricket facilities in Sikkim, which we started in 2022, will be completed and ready for inauguration.

“The Prime Minister will inaugurate the facilities in Rangpo as well as in five other Northeastern states. From Gangtok, all six facilities will be inaugurated, which will give a new impetus to the entire North-eastern cricket scene,” Saikia said to reporters in Rangpo.

Saikia expressed satisfaction with the quality of the facilities in Rangpo. “I have visited Sikkim for infrastructure work six or seven times before, but I had never come to see the cricket infrastructure specifically. Today, I am pleasantly surprised to see such excellent facilities.

“The cricket ground that the Sikkim Cricket Association has built here is very beautiful. It features an international-standard cricket pitch and outfield, all set in lovely surroundings. These facilities are outstanding, and the Sikkim Cricket Association has done a lot of work for the development of cricket here,” he said.

The Rangpo facility, along with similar projects in five other northeastern states, will be inaugurated simultaneously by the Prime Minister from Gangtok. Saikia further explained that the indoor cricket initiative was launched in 2022 under then Secretary Jay Shah, who now serves as the ICC Chairman, keeping in mind the region’s long monsoon season, which lasts for six to seven months a year.

“Furthermore, when Jay Shah was the BCCI Secretary in 2022, he initiated a project for the development of cricket in the Northeast. This project aimed to provide indoor cricket facilities in every state that had recently received membership, as it rains heavily here for six to seven months of the year.

“The objective was to ensure that cricketers wouldn’t face any difficulties in their practice. Under Jay Shah’s leadership, the BCCI began this project in 2022, and it is now completed,” he added.

–IANS

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