Mumbai: Ex-India Cricketer Jatin Paranjape’s VPCC Academy In Bandra Emerges As A Breeding Ground For Young Stars In The Making

The Vasoo Paranjape Cricket Academy (VPCC), founded in January 2022, is fast emerging as amongst the breeding grounds for aspiring or young cricketers. Started by former Indian cricketer Jatin Paranjape, the son of late cricketer Vasoo, the academy has taken the responsibility of grooming raw players from scratch to handle the rigors of top-level cricket.

With the academy seemingly a junkyard before turning into an emerging center for aspiring cricketers, Jatin Paranjape has shed light on its transformation. The 52-year-old has revealed that the present treasurer of BCCI Ashish Shelar encouraged him to do something in cricket for the local residents.

"He would have loved what we are doing here" - Jatin Paranjape remembers his late father

"Ashish Shelar sir suggested that you should do something for cricket here because there isn’t a good local cricket academy and he wanted to do something for the local residents. We slogged really hard for this. There is a borewell under this ground as well. We have 9 cricket pitches now which are really good. So, trying to do something good for the local residents. You would have seen lots of girls play as well. We all are trying to do our bit," Paranjape exclusively told FPJ.

"My father was a person who was really passionate about coaching and he helped hundreds of players. I think this should be as a legacy for him and if he was around today, he would have loved what we are doing here," he elaborated.

When asked how many players train in the academy, the former Indian cricketer revealed that the number ranges between 200-220 and disclosed the stages everyone goes through.

"So, we have 3 levels of coaching. One is for those who have just started the game. There’s the entry level, where we focus more on the fundamentals. There’s the intermediate level, children who are practising for 2-3 years and who we feel can take it to the competitive level. The 3^rd level is more of an advanced level, the players who are on the cusp of Ranji Trophy or IPL. So, we have about 200-220 players here."

With promising players needing a well-defined process to prepare themselves for top-level cricket, Paranjape mentioned that they plan methodically for every player on what they must focus on. He elaborated:

"That’s what we call as session planning or how to curate a customized session for each player. So, we sit down before the day’s practice and there’s a white board inside the dressing room. There will be Group A, Group B, Group C, and so on. It includes what will we do for first 10-15 minutes and what will each player focus on. So, we try and do a daily session planning, weekly session planning, and monthly session planning. Since we are going into the off season, we are planning as to what are you going to work on. So, just try and make it as specific and pinpointed as possible."

Paranjape went on to assure support to underprivileged kids in the academy as they believe nothing should stand in the way of talent going to places.

"This academy itself has about 40-50 players, whose parents cannot afford. We always tell them not to worry about money. If the child is talented, bring them in. We will figure out what to do. There are about 40-50 children, who are being coached free of cost and that’s what we want to do. Nobody should be limited by their economic status. We will figure out what to do. At the end of the day, this is a facility for the talent to come through and nothing will stand in the way of it."

Published on: Wednesday, May 29, 2024, 03:40 PM IST