10 Cricketers who have their own cricket academies

10 Cricketers who have their own cricket academies: Cricketers have always had a tryst with entrepreneurship. While some cricketers have been involved with other sports’ franchises like Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni in order to promote other sports, there have been a few who have invested their time and money to give a little back to the same sport that they played. Cricketers having their own academies is not a new trend. Former cricketers like Roger Binny and Madan Lal were the pioneers of establishing cricket coaching academies in India. But since then, there have been many other cricketers who have started their academies in order to hone the talents of the future generation. Here is a list of 10 Cricketers who have their own cricket academies: 1. Gary Kirsten – Gary Kirsten Cricket Academy, Cape Town: Gary Kirsten. (© Getty Images) The Gary Kirsten Cricket Academy (GKCA) is a renowned cricket academy that provides private cricket coaching for individual cricketers, teams and coaches of various ages and experience levels. The academy not only offers personal training but also offers online coaching. It is headed by Gary Kirsten, the founder, and the head coach is Ryan Cook. Gary Kirsten, the former South African opener, coached the Indian cricket team to a victorious World Cup 2011 and headed the South African national side’s coaching duties during the World Cup 2015. He is a highly regarded coach and easily one of the best we have seen in the game. Also Read – 5 Popular Cricket coaches around the International circuit 2. Andrew Flintoff – Andrew Flintoff Cricket Academy: Andrew Flintoff. (© Getty Images) The Andrew Flintoff Cricket Academy was established in the year 2008 and by the end of 2015, it is estimated that over 320 Academies will inspire about 20,000 boys and girls to play cricket. The England & Wales Cricket Board were involved in the establishment of the Andrew Flintoff Cricket Academy and now the ECB provides the official endorsement of the academy. The headquarters are located at Staffordshire, England. With over 50 venues nationwide and abroad the Andrew Flintoff Cricket Academy has grown into a highly respected and essential part of a young cricketer’s journey. Flintoff is perhaps one of the greatest all-rounders to have played for England in the modern era. Flintoff played a pivotal role in England’s 2005 Ashes victory. 3. Harbhajan Singh – Harbhajan Singh Institue of Cricket, Jalandhar: Harbhajan Singh. (Photo Source: Harbhajan Singh Twitter Handle) The Indian off-spinner who single-handedly won many matches for India started his academy in his hometown Jalandhar. Harbhajan Singh Institute of Cricket has been visualized and designed seeing the zeal and passion of budding cricketers of Punjab. “My aim is to provide an infrastructure of international standards to my boys to give them exemplary learning experience at the academy. This academy has been set up to produce nothing but the best cricketing talent from the heart of Punjab. Let’s aim together to groom the future of cricket at HSIC. Come, be a part of my dream,” quotes Harbhajan Singh about his academy. He recently returned to Kolkata, the venue where he led Indian bowling to an epic Test win over Australia in 2001, and started another academy. It is the offie’s fifth academy in the country. 4. Irfan & Yusuf Pathan – Cricket Academy of Pathans, Baroda: Cricket Academy of Pathans (CAP). (© INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images) Cricket Academy of Pathans by the Pathan brothers in their hometown Baroda with a simple thought of ‘giving back’ to the game and aims to revolutionise the standards of coaching and development of cricket in India. After their notable contribution over the years to Indian cricket, the Pathan brothers now intend to eradicate the one major hurdle in the path of churning out talented cricketers from India: lack of proper coaching. Since only the best can promisingly turn out the best, as CAP believes, CAP also has on board, Greg Chappell and Cameron Tradell, the renowned coaches from Australia, as the chief mentors of CAP. Irfan Pathan is known for his all-round abilities and is remembered for the hat-trick that he took against Pakistan in 2006 at Karachi while Yusuf’s exploits primarily came with the bat. 5. Michael Clarke – Michael Clarke Cricket Academy, Sydney: Michael Clarke. (© Getty Images) Michael Clarke, the former Australian captain, started his cricket academy with a vision to provide the best facilities for the young cricketers to hone their talents in the optimum way. The camp provides one-on-one coaching with Clarke as a premier facility along with junior camps and five day training camps. Michael Clarke recently retired from international cricket after guiding his team to a victorious 2015 World Cup win. His long-term visions are more impressive: help Australian cricket move in the right direction “for the next 10, 20, 30 or 40 years”. “I might not be able to help that at all,” he says, “but if I can, I’m going to try.” That is thinking behind the Michael Clarke Cricket Academy, which Australia’s captain launched in Sydney on Thursday. He describes the concept as “a finishing school for young cricketers”. 6. Virender Sehwag – Sehwag Cricket Academy, New Delhi: Virender Sehwag. (Photo Source:AFP) It was Virender Sehwag’s dream to give back to the cricket community what he learnt for so many years through his single-minded dedication. And, that is how the Sehwag Cricket Academy was envisioned in 2011. The academy promises to provide world-class facilities to not just the local players but also the international players willing to play in Indian conditions. Regular matches & tournaments and advisory sessions with experts are some of the key features of the Sehwag academy. 7. Kevin Pietersen – The Kevin Pietersen Cricket Academy, Dubai: Kevin Pietersen. (Photo Source: KP24 Foundation) “I have been extremely fortunate to play cricket at the highest level. My mentality, work ethic and belief in my own ability have been instrumental in helping me achieve some of my personal goals and helped me contribute to successful team performances. At the Academy, we will ensure that each player has the opportunity to excel and achieve their goals, whatever they may be!”, quotes Kevin Pietersen. The Kevin Pietersen Academy is a place where people from all ages can play under the guidance of highly skilled mentors including Kevin Pietersen. KP also has started various developmental programs where the underprivileged kids from the various ‘inaccessible’ parts of the world will be trained to be the best before representing their countries. 8. Yuvraj Singh – Yuvraj Singh Center of Excellence, Chandigarh: Yuvraj Singh. (Photo Source: BCCI) Through YSCE, Yuvraj, in collaboration with sports management company, Final Score India, hopes to give youngsters a platform live their dreams of playing cricket for the country. Through innovative training techniques, national and international exposure and focused, individual development, the YSCE provides an opportunity to passionate youngsters to excel on the cricket pitch. The facilities like Indoor Stadium, Astro Turf and Playing Grounds for different age groups such as U-14, U-16 and U-19 are some of the key highlights of the academy. 9. Nathan McCullum – Nathan McCullum Cricket Academy, Dunedin: Nathan McCullum. (© Getty Images) The New Zealand spinner established his cricket academy at the King’s High School in Dunedin. The main focus of the academy is to provide the initial base that every young cricketer wishes to get in the early stages of his career. The goal of the Academy is to provide a group of junior and senior athletes with the skills, discipline, knowledge and attitude needed to succeed in cricket at school, club and representative levels. The Academy which is based in Dunedin is coordinated by Bradley Scott and Nathan McCullum. The Kiwi off-break bowler has represented New Zealand in 67 ODIs and 51 T20Is so far. 10. Steve Waugh – Cricket Coaching Clinics, New South Wales Steve Waugh. (© Getty Images) Steve Waugh has been very inspirational in setting up various academies in different parts of the world. The eight-week cricket clinics provide an integrated program of coaching and skills development, across a three-hour session each week for eight weeks. Steve Waugh Cricket offers a unique opportunity to quickly develop your skills and techniques for the T20 format of the game too. The provision of one-to-one coaching is also provided by the academy. Steve Waugh recently launched another world class academy in Bengaluru, India, which holds private ownership of Brigade Orchards albeit. Also Read – 12 Philanthropists – The most kind hearted cricketers