Dubai
It’s not for nothing that G Force Cricket Academy at Dubai Sports World (DSW) has seen over 100 youngsters from the age of five to 19 using its indoor pitch to improve their skills during this summer.
Into its second year at DSW, G Force Cricket Academy has the reputation for bringing in the best cricketers from around the world to offer coaching for the past 10 years. With intensive coaching for children of all nationalities and age groups from seven to 19 years old, the academy focuses on the fundamentals of cricket with special attention to technique and teamwork.
This season at DSW, G Force Cricket Academy has been training passionate cricketers on a superb indoor pitch, with several coaches at hand. One of them is Zahoor Faroqui, just 24 and one of the first trainees at the academy when it launched in the UAE 10 years back.
“The response this year has been very good as expected. Due to the extreme heat outside, parents have been sending their children here in large numbers. They want their kids to keep training indoors. Obviously there are a lot of academy kids who want to continue their training but there are also several new kids who have joined,” he said.
Training is in two batches – under-10 in the morning and those over 10 in the afternoon. Coaching includes teaching basics, batting, bowling and fielding drills.
Faroqui added: “Knowing kids tend to get bored with continuous training we also have tournaments. We had the inter-academy event last month which G Force won. We also intend to have a double-wicket tournament soon for kids of our academy.”
While most kids are from India, there are also youngsters from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. “There’s a lot of potential for pursuing cricket at higher levels for youngsters who train at our academy,” Faroqui said, adding: “Our under-13 and under-16 boys have just toured England and we are planning another overseas trip in December.”
