PM Modi inaugurates six indoor cricket academies in Northeast India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated six state-of-the-art indoor cricket academies across northeastern India on Tuesday during a function in Gangtok, Sikkim. The facilities, developed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, are located in Rangpo, Sikkim; Doimukh, Arunachal Pradesh; Imphal, Manipur; Madankurklang, Meghalaya; Aizawl, Mizoram; and Dimapur, Nagaland.

The academies represent the first such high-performance centers in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, addressing long-standing challenges like prolonged monsoon seasons that disrupt outdoor training. Each site features indoor practice pitches, high-tech gymnasiums, temperature-controlled swimming pools, and dedicated administrative and training blocks, enabling year-round preparation without players needing to travel elsewhere in the country.

The project originated under the leadership of Jay Shah, former BCCI secretary and current International Cricket Council chairman, who laid the foundation stones in May 2024. The inauguration drew Shah, BCCI president Mithun Manhas, honorary secretary Devajit Saikia, vice president Rajeev Shukla, joint secretary Prabhtej Bhatia, treasurer A. Raghuram Bhat, and IPL...