Sporting icons to be honoured at Tarouba facility

People in the local cricket fraternity, including president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board Azim Bassarath and former West Indies batsman Bryan Davis, have stated their displeasure that a stand at the Brian Lara Academy will be named after Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar.

They believe there are many great national cricketers that the stands should be named after.

Yesterday, at a media conference held at the Ministry’s head office on Elizabeth Street in St Clair, Smith said nothing is confirmed with the naming of stands.

Smith said, “It is just discussions we are having, nothing is etched in stone, it was very premature.” Smith added the facility is large enough to name stands after a number of sporting heroes.

“There are gyms, there are conference rooms, there are classrooms, there are training rooms, there are different pitches all that we do plan to cut up and sell and/ or honour Trinidadians, Tobagonians, regional people, international icons.

So one question was answered (at a media conference) and it was morphed into something completely unncessary.

You are going to have several as much as 20 to 30 different sections chopped up and sold and/ or named for two reasons __ to honour, to respect but more so to bring in income.” Smith says he understands that Lara would want to honour instrumental people in his life. “Mr Lara, this was his vision, we are working very closely with him.

The Academy is named after him and we only think it is fitting in honouring him with the people who were a major part of his life and him reaching where he has reached today.”