01 June 2004	Tuesday	12 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

LAHORE, May 31: The National Cricket Academy (NCA), which was built at an exorbitant cost of Rs 130 million, failed to provide accommodation to 25 players of the Lahore Regional Academy which like other eight regions started from Monday.

From the hefty budget only 16 rooms have been built for the players. The rooms had already been provided to students of the National Academy which started early this month.

The players of the Lahore Regional Academy now will stay at their homes after spending the whole day at the Qadhafi Stadium. It may be mentioned that PCB officials have been claiming the NCA to be a major achievement but it proved it was not built with proper planning.

If a building which could not accommodate even 50 students how can it possibly attract foreign students to have their classes, which was one of the purposes of the academy.

The income from foreign students could only be the source of income of the NCA, otherwise it was a total liability. Former Pakistan skipper, Imran Khan had already criticized the heavy investment made in the NCA especially preparing indoor net facilities to be used during the rainy season.

Imran was of the view that such kind of facility was needed in countries like England and the board could have built up half a dozen cricket grounds with that amount. As the academy was certified by ISO, the PCB could not give accommodation to more than two boys in a room.