National Cricket Academy is where the injured Indian players complete their rehab, and can be credited for doing a wonderful job with some. But in a long history of the rehab centre there, there are a few cases that have been botched up as well. Speaking to the Times of India in a podcast, former India pacer Munaf Patel did not hold back, and made his views known on the institution.
NCA questioned by Munaf Patel
“Just look at the setup,” he said. “If you go inside the NCA, you’ll understand everything. I’ve been saying this for a long time, it needs to change, 100 percent.” Based on Australia’s concept of Centre of Excellence, the NCA was brought in, in 2000, and has remained the same. But the Aussie setup has of course changed.
‘‘Back in 2000-01, when the NCA started, Raj Singh Dungarpur and others built it by adopting Australia’s Centre of Excellence model. They brought their coaching manual and implemented it in India. Since then, Australia has updated their manuals multiple times, but we are still following the same 25-year-old manual from 2000. It hasn’t really evolved. Hopefully, with the new Centre of Excellence, things might change, but so far, that hasn’t happened,” Munaf said during podcast.
In fact, the former pacer compared it to a hospital. ”Tell me this, when I get injured, I go to the NCA. Why? To get fit. It has become more like a hospital. You recover, come back, and go straight into the team. But who corrects your mistakes? If I’m a bowler or batter, it’s not just about fitness, my skills also need improvement,” Munaf said.
He did not stop there and revealed that many players refrain from going to NCA. ”Players are fearful of going to the NCA, nobody really wants to go. But everyone stays quiet because their livelihood depends on it. No one wants to speak up as it could create trouble. However, the higher authorities should know what’s right and wrong,” he added.
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