Brijesh Patel inaugurates turf wicket in Manipal

The former Indian cricketer said the university could be a wonderful venue for big-time cricket.

Speaking to the media persons he said, that KPL matches and also the Under-19 and Under-22 matches can be played straight away in the turf.

With the addition of dressing rooms and a pavilion, even Ranji Trophy matches and other bigger games can be played, he added. He also pointed out the scope for an academy to come up here.

The ground

Patel was happy with not only the four turf wickets, but also the ground, which is a carpet of green. The curator of the ground is former Karnataka Ranji player A V Jaganath, who is also the National Cricket Academy curator. Assisting him is another former state Ranji player Pravin Kumar.

There are eight practice pitches including six of matting and two turf wickets in the grond.  A motorized roller and the manually operated light rollers were used to make the turf wickets. The covers were adequate to take care of even the bowling run up as per the specifications for big matches.

Sports Complex

Patel was particularly impressed with the sports complex which is coming up on the campus.

The complex has gymnasiums, a basketball court, four squash courts, five badminton courts and a walking track all air-conditioned.

However he suggested that indoor cricket could be added to these facilities so that the students could use during monsoons. He also suggested covers on top of the cricket practice nets both at the MIT cricket ground and at the ground where the turf wickets were inaugurated.

Manipal University Chancellor Dr Ramdass Pai, Vice Chancellor Dr H S Ballal, Registrar Dr G K Prabhu, International Relations Registrar Dr Vinodh Bhat, Dr Rajesh Bhaktha and others were present.