The J&K Sports Council today entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Suresh Raina Cricket Academy to develop budding cricketers of J&K to National & International level with comprehensive training programme at a professional level.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha and International Cricketer, Suresh Raina here at Civil Secretariat.
The Lt Governor observed that the initiative will provide an opportunity to budding cricketers to hone their skills and to showcase their talent in various levels of national & international competitive tournaments.
Complimenting the ace cricketer, the Lt Governor said that Suresh Raina would be a dream mentor for young talents from J&K who are working hard to get into the big leagues will be immensely benefitted by this collaboration. With experienced International Cricketers like Suresh Raina, who is an inspiration for millions of aspiring cricketers, mentoring the youth of J&K, I am hopeful we will soon have many players competing to get into the National team, he added.
It was informed that the J&K Sports Council shall make available supporting infrastructure for usage by Suresh Raina Cricket Academy to impart coaching to the youth of J&K to promote excellence in sports. The MoU provides for daily upkeep & maintenance of sports facilities and the equipment by Suresh Raina Cricket Academy to be allowed for usage by J&K Sports Council. The MoU shall run for a period of one year and shall be renewable on mutual understanding.
BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to Lt Governor; Sarmad Hafeez, Secretary to the Government, Youth Services and Sports, Tourism and Culture Departments and Naseem Javid Chowdhary, Secretary, J&K Sports Council were present on the occasion.
Later, in the press conference attended by Secretary, Youth Services & Sports, Sarmad Hafeez; the ace cricketer, Suresh Raina said that being the son of the soil he wants to contribute to the game in whatever way he can. He said that motivating youth to work hard and to prepare them for competitive events at the national and international level should be our goal.
Raina further said that J&K has come a long way from last few years to upgrade their infrastructure in the length and breadth of Union Territory. He stated that J&K has a vast pool of talent that needs proper hand-holding and direction to make a mark on national and international platforms. He further impressed that the game has been commercialized a lot and there is no dearth of chances to get recognized and rewarded if one possesses the necessary spark in him.
On the occasion, Secretary Youth Services & Sports, Sarmad said that in the next few years, we hope that J&K has a fair representation in every sport at the national and international level. Times are not far when our youth would be seen representing the nation in most of the games and the nation as a whole would feel proud about them, he added.