The picturesque cricket playfield situated at CSR Sarma College Grounds has been accorded the Board of Control of Cricket India (BCCI) first class status and the first-ever Ranji Trophy match between Andhra and Tripura will be held early next year, according to Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) director M.S.K. Prasad.
Speaking to The Hindu , he said the playfield was spruced up as per the vision of the ACA, which was keen on nurturing one stadium in each district of the association’s jurisdiction. “It all started in 2008 and from 2009 onwards, under the stewardship of ACA secretary Gokaraju Ganga Raju, the playfield was blossomed into a quality strip after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with CSR Sarma College authorities,” said ACA vice president Mohan Das.
The playfield, with a hillock at the backdrop, provides a brilliant ambience to the teams to perform. “The venue has already hosted a couple of BCCI junior matches and the visiting teams are highly appreciative of the bounce offered by the wicket. Many coaches consider this strip as the fastest one in the ACA jurisdiction,” said Mr. Das.
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The playfield offers modern dressing rooms, players’ change rooms, gallery for the spectators, nets and state-of-art drainage system. “This venue is all set to be the favourite for domestic teams as it is well-connected both with rail and air from all over the country. We also have quality hotels to take care of the accommodation,” said Mr. Das.
The playfield is witnessing a beehive of action as Andhra and Jharkhand under-19 teams will vie for honours from November 1 to 4 and later team from Haryana will clash with Andhra from November 8 to 11.
Prakasam District Cricket Association was carved from Kurnool, Guntur and Nellore in 1977 and players like M. Sarat Babu, M. Hari Babu and T. Vamsi Krishna represented Andhra in the first class cricket.
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