MRF signs historic 5-yr agreement with BCCI

The MOU finalized  includes a tie-up between India’s premier pace foundation and the BCCI for the next five years.

The MRF Pace Foundation over the years has contributed to the success of fast bowlers from around the world. In terms of facilities, infrastructure and training talent, the MRF Pace Foundation has a lot to offer the Indian bowlers.

The BCCI will send current and upcoming pace bowlers to the academy to train under the Director of the Pace Foundation, the legendary Glenn McGrath. The bowlers will be split into Elite and Probables categories and the training will be imparted in batches. 

ELITE – Elite includes all those pace bowlers who have been selected by the BCCI to play official matches at different levels. There will a maximum of 10 trainees per camp and the duration of the same will be two weeks. The selected pace bowlers can attend the camp during all three visits of Glenn McGrath in a year between – Jan-Feb; June-July and August - September. The first such training camp has begun on Sept 1.

PROBABLES – This category will include upcoming pace bowlers, as identified and shortlisted by the National Selectors. There will be a total of 20 probables, all of whom will undergo training for a period of 30 days. These 20 trainees will be split into two groups (ten each) and attend the camp in May-Jun and July- August.

The MRF Pace Foundation has grown from humble beginnings in 1987 to establish itself as one of the premier pace bowling academies in the world. The MRF Pace Foundation was the first coaching facility in the world dedicated to pace bowling and it is perhaps the only privately funded sport development initiative in India, which has continued un-interrupted for 27 years. During this period, the Foundation has played host to several legends of cricket, including Jeff Thomson, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Joel Garner, Rodney Marsh, to name a few.

Speaking on the occasion,  K M Mammen, Chairman and Managing Director, MRF Limited, said, “For the last 27 years, the MRF Pace Foundation has worked with a single minded focus of producing pace bowlers for India. Everything we have done at the Pace Foundation, in terms of the tie-ups we have entered into, the infrastructure we have invested in, the staff we have trained, has been planned with this single objective in mind. We are extremely proud of what we have achieved so far. 17 of our trainees have played for the country, taking over 2,000 international wickets. Today, we are proud to announce the official partnership between the BCCI and MRF Pace Foundation to train pace bowlers for India. This new agreement will help us work together even more effectively to produce great results.”

“This is a great moment. The association between the BCCI and the MRF Pace Foundation will hugely benefit Indian cricket in the long run,” Shivlal Yadav, Interim President, BCCI, said.

“The BCCI is pleased to initiate this partnership with the MRF Pace Foundation, an institution where several outstanding pace bowlers have honed their skills over the past three decades. These individuals have done the country proud with their achievements in all forms of the game. We are confident that this partnership between the BCCI and the MRF Pace Foundation will help produce many more quick bowlers, who will bring glory to India, in the years to come,” Sanjay Patel, Hony. Secretary, BCCI, said.

“It has been a wonderful couple of years for me at the MRF Pace Foundation. I now eagerly look forward to working with India’s best at the foundation. Our facilities compare favourably with the best in the world and I am eagerly looking forward to this challenge.” said, MRF Pace Foundation Director, Glenn McGrath.

Some of the bowlers selected to train at the MRF Pace Foundation include Varun Aaron, Rahul Shukla, Ishwar Pandey, Ashok Dinda, Veer Pratap Singh, Deepak Chahar, Nathu Singh, Ankit Rajput, Anureet Singh, Shardul Thakur, and CV Milind.