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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) introduced the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for the rehabilitation of cricketers and as a high-performance centre for Indian cricketers, whether domestic or international. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has shared his thanks and gratitude towards the current ICC Chairman, Jay Shah, who played a big role in developing the CoE.
Over the years, it has provided good services for the cricketers but has now been under the scanner due to the injury management of Indian cricketers. It has become a mini hospital, with nearly 10 Indian international cricketers doing their rehab at the moment after suffering various injuries. It has also been reported that many cricketers were released even before all the boxes were ticked.
Devajit Saikia thanks Jay Shah
While speaking with some media, Devajit Saikia thanked Jay Shah as he took the initiative to make the CoE, as the former BCCI secretary believed that they need to come out of the old and temporary arrangement of the NCA.
"He [Jay Shah] took everybody on board in BCCI's Apex Council and made a firm decision that this establishment (CoE) has to be done on a war footing, and we need to move on from the old, temporary arrangement of National Cricket Academy," Devajit Saikia told select media at the BCCI CoE.
Devajit Saikia mentions biggest challenge faced by BCCI to make CoE
Devajit Saikia also discussed the biggest challenge the BCCI overcame to build the CoE. He stated that it was nearly impossible to find a land with 40 acres, and after they found it, the people wanted to take it back; however, they started the work in 2022.
"Jay came here personally on several occasions to clear all the legal hurdles to start the work, because a lot of regulations are to be followed once we have to start a proper project and on top of that, we have to regularise the land." Regularising the land offered the seasoned administrators the "biggest challenge", said Saikia.
"That was the biggest challenge, because this kind of land, 40 acres, was lying idle, and a lot of people wanted to take it back. So everything had to be cleared before the work started from 14th February 2022," he added.
"But the transition was a challenge. Roger Binny was there, and we have taken the help of VVS Laxman who by that time, was part of this scheme."
VVS Laxman opens up on how he got to CoE
VVS Laxman on how he got appointed as the Head of Cricket at CoE. He stated that Jay Shah and Sourav Ganguly reached out to him to take up the role in 2021, as Rahul Dravid, who was previously the head, was set to be appointed as the head coach.
Laxman recollected how he moved to Bengaluru from Hyderabad to be part of a long journey. "In 2021, when Jay and then BCCI president Sourav (Ganguly) reached out to me, saying that Rahul (Dravid) is moving to the Indian team as the head coach, and we want that continuity."
"It was a tough decision for me. But as a cricketer, I always thought that it's the responsibility of former cricketers who benefited through this great game to contribute back to the game. And with that intention, obviously, I moved to Bangalore in December 2021," he said.
