‘Vision Translated Into Reality’ - BCCI Centre of Excellence: How Jay Shah helped turn a 40-acre project into reality

The BCCI’s state-of-the-art Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru took shape after a determined, multi-year effort led by former secretary Jay Shah, with incumbent secretary Devajit Saikia crediting his leadership for helping overcome legal, regulatory, and administrative hurdles.

Legal hurdles delayed 40-acre project 

Speaking to media at the BCCI CoE ahead of its second anniversary, Saikia said Shah, who is now the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman, played a crucial role in bringing all stakeholders together and ensuring that the project moved forward on a war footing.

“He 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. We needed to move on from the old, temporary arrangement of the National Cricket Academy,” Saikia said.

According to Saikia, Shah personally visited the site several times to address legal and regulatory challenges before construction could begin.

“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 start a proper project. On top of that, we had to regularize the land,” he said.

Saikia described the regularization of the 40-acre property as the biggest challenge faced by the administrators. The land had remained unused for a long period, while several parties were reportedly seeking to reclaim it.

“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 on February 14, 2022,” he added.

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Laxman recalls move to Bengaluru.

Former India batter VVS Laxman also recalled his role in the transition from the National Cricket Academy to the new Centre of Excellence. He moved from Hyderabad to Bengaluru in December 2021 after being approached by Shah and then BCCI president Sourav Ganguly.

“In 2021, when Jay and then BCCI president Sourav reached out to me, saying Rahul was moving to the Indian team as head coach and that they wanted that continuity, it was a tough decision,” Laxman said.

He added that former cricketers had a responsibility to contribute to the sport that had given them so much. "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."

Laxman said the entire infrastructure became operational within nearly two years, crediting Shah for closely monitoring meetings with architects and the L&T team.

"In the span of close to two years, the entire infrastructure was up and running. And huge credit to Jay, because he was the secretary of the BCCI and I myself seen firsthand how much interest he used to take in various meetings we used to have with the architects, with the L&T team, to make sure that each and every aspect of the COE, or then NCA, is taken care of.

And it's great to see that, you know, the vision was translated into reality. And I think all leaders have vision. But the vision will only bear the fruit when it's translated into reality. And that reality is what we've seen in 2024, November," he said.

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