Outlook Explains | How 40 Acres Of Idle Land Became BCCI’s Ambitious Centre Of Excellence In Bengaluru

There was a time when the National Cricket Academy was operating out of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, sharing space and facilities while trying to prepare India’s next generation of cricketers. The BCCI knew it needed something bigger, a dedicated campus where training, rehabilitation, sports science, coaching and player development could function together.

The answer was eventually found on a 40-acre stretch of land in Bengaluru.

What followed was a project that took years to materialise, faced legal and administrative hurdles and ultimately turned an unused piece of land into one of Indian cricket’s most ambitious infrastructure projects.

The result is the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE), inaugurated in September 2024 after construction began in February 2022. The facility, located near Bengaluru’s airport, has three grounds, 86 pitches, indoor and outdoor training areas and a dedicated Sports Science and Medicine centre.

But the story behind it is almost as interesting as the facility itself.

The 40-Acre Problem That Had to Be Solved First

The idea of a new NCA was not born overnight. The project had been discussed for years, but getting the land and clearing the administrative hurdles proved to be a major obstacle.

When the foundation stone was finally laid on February 14, 2022, then-BCCI secretary Jay Shah described the project as a collective effort.

“It is our collective vision to have a Centre of Excellence which nurtures talent and supports the cricket ecosystem in India.”

The statement captured what the BCCI wanted the new campus to become. It was not supposed to be another cricket academy with a few additional nets. The plan was to create an ecosystem capable of supporting players throughout their development.

The project, however, still had to get through the difficult part: turning the vision into an actual campus.

Current BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has spoken about the scale of the challenge, particularly the process of regularising the 40-acre property.

“This establishment, the Centre of Excellence, had to be done on a war footing.”

That urgency became important because the land had remained unused while the BCCI continued operating the NCA from the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

According to Saikia, Shah personally became involved in the process of resolving the hurdles surrounding the property. He visited Bengaluru several times and pushed the project forward while the board worked through the legal and administrative complications.

The foundation stone ceremony finally marked the point where the project moved from planning to construction.

And the difference between the old NCA and what was eventually built was enormous.

Why the New Centre Needed to Be More Than an NCA

The old National Cricket Academy had been based at the Chinnaswamy Stadium since 2000. It had served Indian cricket well, but the BCCI's requirements had changed dramatically.

India now had larger squads, more international cricket, women's cricket, age-group programmes and an increasingly sophisticated approach to fitness and performance.

The new facility was designed to address those demands.

Spread across 40 acres, with around 33 acres utilised for the main development, the CoE has three cricket grounds and 86 pitches. The main ground has an 85-yard boundary and 13 pitches made using Mumbai red soil. Other surfaces use soils from Mandya and Kalahandi, giving players exposure to different types of pitches.

The indoor facility has eight pitches, including surfaces sourced from the UK and Australia, while the outdoor area has 45 practice pitches.

That variety was deliberate.

For an Indian batter preparing for a tour of England, Australia or South Africa, preparation should not be limited to conditions available at home. The same applies to bowlers who need to understand how different surfaces react.

VVS Laxman, who has headed the NCA/CoE, was particularly impressed by the scale of the project.

“I have been to some of the best academies in the world, not only limited to cricket, but other sports also. I have not seen this kind of facility.”

Laxman also made clear that the facility was designed for more than established India players.

“The beneficiaries will be not only the future generation of cricketers, but also the current generation of cricketers.”

That distinction is important. The CoE is intended to serve players at different stages, from emerging cricketers to established international stars who need specialised preparation or recovery.

Sports Science Is at the Heart of the Project

Perhaps the biggest difference between the new Centre of Excellence and the old NCA is what happens away from the cricket field.

The campus has a dedicated Sports Science and Medicine facility, along with physiotherapy and rehabilitation areas, a gym, recovery facilities and other athlete-support infrastructure.

The aim is to make player development less dependent on instinct and more connected to measurable performance.

That covers areas such as strength and conditioning, injury management, rehabilitation, nutrition and sports science.

Laxman described the facility as being “way ahead of time” when discussing its infrastructure.

The Centre also has facilities such as a physiotherapy rehabilitation gym, sports science and medicine laboratories, massage rooms, a jacuzzi and other recovery amenities. The Sports Science and Medicine facilities were also envisioned as being useful beyond cricket, with leading Indian Olympians able to access them.

This is where the word “excellence” becomes more than a name.

Laxman explained why the BCCI chose to move away from the traditional NCA identity.

“I think the word excellence is very important for all sportspersons who are trying to compete at the highest level.”

He added: “When we talk about excellence, mediocrity is something which you do not want to embrace. You want to compete with the best in the world.”

The thinking is straightforward: if India wants its athletes to compete with the world's best, the preparation environment must also be among the world's best.

From Rehabilitation Centre to Complete High-Performance Hub

The CoE has recently faced scrutiny because of recurring injuries among Indian cricketers. That has inevitably brought attention back to the role of the facility and whether it is being viewed too narrowly as a rehabilitation centre.

Laxman has rejected that description.

“We don't use the term blame.”

He has stressed that injuries are an unavoidable part of professional sport and that the facility's role goes beyond treating players after they get hurt.

That distinction matters because the BCCI's broader vision is about prevention and preparation, not merely rehabilitation.

The CoE is supposed to provide an environment where players can identify weaknesses, improve physical conditioning, work on specific skills, recover properly and prepare for the demands of upcoming tours.

That philosophy is already visible in how Indian players use the facility.

In August 2025, Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah were among the high-profile players who arrived at the Bengaluru CoE for fitness assessments.

In June 2026, Hardik Pandya was also expected to spend more than a week at the facility ahead of India's ODI series against Afghanistan.

Those visits underline how the CoE has become part of the routine of Indian cricket rather than simply a place players visit when something goes wrong.

Jay Shah’s Vision, BCCI’s Long-Term Bet

The project also tells the story of how Indian cricket's infrastructure ambitions have evolved.

At the foundation stone ceremony in 2022, Shah spoke about creating a facility that would nurture talent and support the wider cricket ecosystem. Two years later, that vision had become a sprawling campus.

Laxman described the speed of the transformation in striking terms:

“In the span of close to two years, the entire infrastructure was up and running.”

That was possible because the BCCI treated the project as something larger than a conventional construction exercise. Architects, engineers, administrators, cricket specialists and performance experts were all working towards the same goal.

The result is a facility designed to give Indian cricket something it did not previously have in the same form: a single, permanent high-performance ecosystem.

Three grounds mean domestic matches can be hosted. Multiple pitch types allow players to prepare for different conditions. Indoor facilities offer year-round training. Sports science and medicine provide specialist support. Rehabilitation facilities help players return from injuries. And the wider campus gives emerging players access to infrastructure previously concentrated around senior teams.

The 40 acres, therefore, are only the beginning of the story.

The real question is what Indian cricket does with what has been built there.

If the BCCI Centre of Excellence can consistently improve player preparation, reduce avoidable setbacks, develop younger talent and produce cricketers capable of handling conditions around the world, the barren land that once sat unused will have become much more than a construction success.

It will have become an investment in Indian cricket's next generation.