MP's first women's cricket academy to come up in Shivpuri

The first women's cricket academy of Madhya Pradesh will be set up in Shivpuri district, and a talent search programme for picking up players for it will begin from Monday, an official has said. Shivpuri is the state Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia's Assembly constituency.

"This is going to be the 11th sports academy in the state. Academies for athletics, shooting, horse riding, water sports, martial arts, men's hockey, women's hockey, badminton, archery and men's cricket are already running in Madhya Pradesh," the official said.

The talent search programme for state women's cricket academy will begin on February 28. It will be open for 14 to 21 age group, he said. The first talent search for the academy will be held in Indore on February 28 and March 1. Players from all the districts of Indore and Ujjain divisions are free to take part in the exercise, a government statement said.

Likewise, the talent search exercise will be carried out in the state capital on March 2 and 3 for the districts of Bhopal, Narmadapuram and Sagar divisions, it added. For the districts of Jabalpur division, it is going to be organised in Jabalpur on March 4 and 5, while for the districts of Gwalior and Chambal division the exercise will be held in Shivpuri on March 7 and 8, it said.

Education, accommodation, food, training kit are provided free of cost to the selected players in all the academies by the sports department in MP, it added.