The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Rural coaching centres a bold step: S.K. Nair

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006

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Sport - Cricket

Rural coaching centres a bold step: S.K. Nair

A. Vinod

The emphasis of Vision 2010 will be on setting up sound training facilities across Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Development is Kerala Cricket Association's new mantra. And the KCA president, S. Karunakaran Nair, is the driving force behind the association and its new `Vision 2010' project. The former BCCI secretary spoke to The Hindu on the new project, on his first day at office at the new KCA headquarters.

Excerpts:

By releasing the `Vision 2010' on Sunday, the KCA has set an ambitious agenda. Could you explain how you are going to meet the challenges in implementing it?

The project document is just a blueprint. It is a continuation of the `Vision 2005' project, launched in 2001. The new headquarters complex itself is part of our earlier scheme. We have had many other successes, including the development of the Fort Maidan in Palakkad as a good cricketing venue. We spotted a sizeable team of qualified coaches, umpires and scorers during that period, launched an all-Kerala schools tournament, conducted an all-India schools championship as part of our golden jubilee celebrations, and more importantly produced two Test players — Tinu Yohannan and S. Sreesanth — during this period.

Of course, there had been failures too. For instance, we had plans of having at least one practice turf wicket in each district. We could not get it through.

Given that failure, how you plan to establish so many training facilities in the next three years?

The emphasis would be on setting up sound training facilities and coaching centres across the State. After conducting a study on our failures in the last project, it was found that none of the District cricket associations could find enough money to lay and maintain turf wickets. Adequate measures have been taken to overcome this problem, this time around. The KCA will fully meet the cost required for putting in place the various infrastructure schemes mentioned in the report. Further, it will also provide the DCAs 90 per cent of the maintenance costs during the first year, 75 per cent in the second year and 50 per cent from the third year onwards.

Do you think the DCAs can meet the specified deadlines, mentioned in the report, for implementing the various schemes?

Yes. We have already prepared a common by-law for the DCAs. With the KCA promising funds, I think the DCAs have little to worry about. They will be only happy to grab the opportunities.

The idea to have two rural coaching centres each in all the districts seems to be one of the prominent features of this project.

When the principal office-bearers of the association met the officials, coaches and club representatives from the three zones separately while taking stock of the achievements and failures of `Vision 2005', we got the feedback about the vast potential that remain untapped in our villages. Again, this was one of the major recommendations that evolved in the one-day seminar on cricket development, which we conducted while formulating this project. Indeed, it is a revolutionary step, which I think, would pay rich dividends.

The project report mentions about your intention to earmark a whopping Rs. 5 crores for the implementation of the various schemes. How are you going to raise such a large amount?

We have had profits from the all the one-day international matches we hosted in Kochi. Moreover, the annual fund flow from the BCCI to its affiliates is to undertake development activities. I don't think money would be a problem. Our intention is to use our surpluses in a pragmatic way, ensuring all-round development of the game in the State. Everything can't be achieved overnight. We are looking forward to a step-by-step development so that our junior cricketers can come up the ladder and thereby help the cause of both Kerala and Indian cricket.

How do you plan to monitor the progress of `Vision 2010'?

We will have three separate committees, one each at the State, zonal/district and rural levels, to supervise the implementation of the schemes and to monitor the day-to-day functioning of the coaching centres planned at these levels. The KCA central council itself will be monitoring the whole process on a regular basis.

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