Cuttack: The Cricket Indoor Hall of MGM School of Sports, built at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore, was inaugurated at Gurudihatia in Cuttack by former Team India cricketer and bowling coach Bharat Arun on Wednesday.
Present at the occasion were former India players Venkatapathy Raju and Debashish Mohanty, ex-India fielding coach R Sridhar, MGM Minerals Ltd Chairman and Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) senior vice-president Pankaj Lochan Mohanty and OCA secretary Sanjay Behera.
The Cricket Indoor Hall, to be run by MGM Minerals Ltd Group, will be a big boost for Odisha players who will be able to use the facility all year through, including during monsoon season.
The playing surface of the Indoor Hall is 120 feet by 80 feet, with a height being 25 feet.
A six-lane net practice box — four lanes for pacers and two for spinners — has been constructed with imported artificial turf. A fully-equipped gym has also been set up.
The MGM School of Sports has established a Centre of Excellence for Cricket with technical support of ‘Coaching Beyond’, founded by Ravi Shastri and his former Team India coaching staff members Arun and Sridhar.
A rehabilitation centre has also been built at the cricket academy for prevention and cure of injuries, to be operated by experienced physiotherapists.
Other facilities include a store section, parent-sitting lounge, cafeteria and table tennis board on the ground floor, besides a motivation hall, video analysis room on first floor.
