Dhoni bats for sports academy

Patna, Sept. 2: India's cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni wishes to set up a sports academy in Bihar.

In an email communication to the Bihar government, the Jharkhand cricketer has asked for land to set up the academy in sports-starved Bihar. The missive is, however, silent on the amount of land required to set up the academy.

The letter written by Dhoni has been sent to deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who has in turn forwarded it to sports minister Sukhda Pandey.

Pandey confirmed that the Indian skipper has expressed interest. "Yes, we have received a letter from Team India captain Dhoni which was forwarded by deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi a few days ago," she said.

The minister said the government was serious over the project and the sports department will correspond with Dhoni.

Pandey, however, clarified that the letter was brief ' of three lines only ' and doesn't explain how the cricketer intends setting up the academy. "We will seek a detailed project report from Dhoni and based on that, a decision would be taken," said Pandey.

The Bihar government has been keen to get the state on the sporting map. On August 30, on the occasion of Khel Diwas, chief minister Nitish Kumar had announced that his government had decided to open a sports academy in the state on the pattern of the Netaji Institute of Sports at Patiala, besides constructing a hockey stadium at Rajendra Nagar in Patna.

Dhoni's interest in Bihar comes months after he rejected an offer made by the Delhi government to set up a sports academy in the national capital. In April, soon after the World Cup victory, the Jharkhand government had promised the cricketer five acres of land for an academy, but even after four months, little progress has been made. "Things are under process," said Ranchi deputy commissioner K.K. Soan.

Dhoni has made it clear that his proposed academy in Jharkhand will not focus on cricket alone, but also on training youths in other sporting disciplines. "It would be an academy with a holistic approach, honing sporting talent from every field," he had said in June.

Bihar deputy chief minister Modi said his government was serious about the project. "We will have a high-level discussion after which a team comprising senior officials will meet Dhoni seeking directions for setting up the academy," he said.

Modi informed that the email was routed through BJP MP Anurag Thakur, who is also president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association.

Dhoni's interest to set up an academy in Bihar is seen as a big feat for Bihar which has been lagging behind in sports. After the creation of Jharkhand in November 2000, the mineral-rich state attracted sports talent from unified Bihar. The apathy in Bihar can be gauged from the fact that the state has no stadium of repute while the lone Moin-ul-Haq Stadium, where a few World Cup cricket matches were played, is crying for attention.

The stadium was constructed in 1969-70 over an area of 30 acres. A portion of the stadium is being utilised by the Cricket Academy of Bihar, headed by former Ranji player Amikar Dayal. A few months ago, the Bihar State Sports Authority directed the academy to vacate the land. But the same plot was again allotted to Dayal for running the academy.

One of Dhoni's close associates and his former coach, Chanchal Bhattacharjee, said Jharkhand may love to delay things but Bihar doesn't. "Nitish knows how to grasp the opportunity and he certainly would be the first one to set up the academy," he said.