Gen-Next Cricket Institute, mentored by India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin, entered into a long-term partnership with Gaudium Sportopia of Hyderabad to tap and groom excellence here on Wednesday.
Speaking on the occasion, Ashwin said that they didn't look at Gaudium like a business venture but as a novel concept to tap and groom young cricket talent.
"Honestly, I would have loved to have started my career in this wonderful campus with such excellent sports infrastructure, " he said.
"The whole idea is to ensure academics and sports go together and this is what really is commendable and exceptional with Mrs. Kirthi Reddy, Director and Founder of The Gaudium, who is ensuring the students get both the benefits for the same fee structure," Ashwin explained.
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"And, more importantly, it is a great opportunity to work with the same institution where some of icons of Indian sport like P..Gopi Chand (badminton), S. Raman (table tennis) and R.B. Ramesh (chess) are also involved,” he said.
"We try to be different by rolling out a curriculum which will ensure quality cricketers are groomed in this GenNext over a period of time with three levels of coaching in place for beginners, intermediate level and the next high performance stage,” Ashwin said.
"Well, the biggest challenge in coaching now-days, perhaps in any discipline, is the kind of distractions by way of electronic gadgets to the kids,” he said.
"There will be a constant and critical review system in place and once some of the best young talent are handpicked based on their performances, I will personally get into moulding them into better cricketers, " he explained.
For her part, Kirthi Reddy said it was a privilege to be associated with someone like Ashwin whose commitment level and passion are pretty well-known.
“The cricket ground, coming up on the sprawling 27 acre Gaudium campus, will be bigger than the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi and will be floodlit as per ICC guidelines," she said.
Mr. Prasad Mangipudi, ED of Sportzlive which organises the high profile Premier Badminton League and is strategic mentor of Gaudium, says they strive to look at provide seamless experience to students in sports and academics on the same campus by cutting down on time and distance. “We are grateful to Ashwin for accepting to be with us in this endeavour,” he concluded.
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