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Land is reportedly being sought in Vadodara for India women’s cricketer Radha Yadav to establish a cricket academy, according to an NDTV Sports report published on October 23, 2026. The story has drawn attention because it comes amid public debate over a proposed land allotment involving former India cricketer Yusuf Pathan in the same city. The exact status and terms of any request for Yadav should be confirmed through the relevant municipal or state authority before being treated as an approved project.
The issue places a potential grassroots cricket facility alongside wider questions about how public land is allocated, valued and offered for sporting or personal purposes. At the time of writing, no official public order confirming the details of a land request for Yadav was located, so the proposal’s status remains attributed to media reporting.
NDTV’s report says land is being sought in Vadodara for Radha Yadav to set up a cricket academy. Yadav is an India left-arm spinner who represents Baroda in domestic cricket. A dedicated academy could, if approved and developed, provide a structured training venue for young players, including girls seeking a route into organised cricket. Those potential benefits, however, depend on the project being formally approved, funded and implemented.
Yadav’s connection to Vadodara is long-standing. A Times of India profile published in January 2018 described how she followed her coach, Prafull Naik, when he moved from Mumbai to Vadodara. The move allowed her to continue training with him and build her domestic career with Baroda. That background gives the reported academy proposal a local development dimension, although it does not independently establish the current request’s legal or administrative status.
The NDTV report places the request in the context of attention surrounding a proposed land allotment to Yusuf Pathan. Economic Times reporting published in October 2026 said the Gujarat government had approved a proposal involving a 978-square-metre Vadodara Municipal Corporation plot in the Tandalja area. The report valued the plot at approximately ₹20.53 crore and said 500 square metres would be gifted for residential use, with the remaining 478 square metres offered at 55% of a valuation set by the VUDA valuation committee.
That proposal has attracted scrutiny because Pathan had previously sought the land and the Gujarat High Court had rejected his earlier claim, according to the same reporting. The debate raises broader questions about consistency and transparency in decisions involving public property. It is important, however, not to assume that the reported proposal for Pathan and the reported request relating to Yadav are legally or administratively identical; the purpose, eligibility criteria and terms may differ.
Vadodara has a strong connection to Indian cricket and is home to the Baroda Cricket Association’s domestic programme. An academy focused on structured coaching could potentially widen access to practice facilities and support young cricketers working towards district, state and national selection. For girls in particular, a well-resourced and accessible facility can offer coaching continuity, match preparation and a clearer development pathway.
Those are possible outcomes rather than confirmed features of the reported proposal. Before the project can be described as a forthcoming academy, the public would need clarity on whether land has formally been requested, which authority owns the site, whether the request has been approved, the intended use of the land and the financing and operating arrangements for the facility.
The key next step is an official statement or public document from the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, Gujarat government or another relevant authority that sets out the request and its status. Such confirmation would help distinguish an initial proposal from a formal allotment and clarify whether the land would be leased, sold, granted at a concession or made available under a sports-development policy.
Until those details are available, the report should be understood as a developing local sports and public-land story. Radha Yadav’s playing career and ties to Baroda are established, but the precise terms of a proposed academy should not be inferred from the separate Yusuf Pathan case. SportsLine will update this report if an official decision or a fuller statement from the parties becomes available.
