Castrol Recognizes and Rewards Budding Cricketers

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India , 2006-09-19

India's victory in the under-19 World Cup in early 2000 was fashioned by an incredibly talented team in general and two members in particular; Mohammad Kaif an attractive batsman and brilliant fielder from Uttar Pradesh, and the leading performer, a flamboyant southpaw from Chandigarh, Yuvraj Singh.

It was the first time Mohammed Kaif and Yuvraj Singh had excelled in tandem for an Indian team. It wasn't the last.

Started in the year 1997-98, the Castrol Awards for Cricketing Excellence were structured in such a manner that they tracked, recognized and rewarded current as well as future players of Indian cricket.

The first Junior Cricketer to receive the award in 1997-98 was Jyoti Yadav. That was the year Mohammad Kaif, Nikhil Haldipur, Amit Pagnis, and Reetinder Singh Sodhi also came under the CASTROL scanner.

In the following years, a huge number of young and talented Cricketers were spotted by the CASTROL SYSTEM. Almost all of them went on to play for their state, region and the country.

The list of cricketers in the reckoning for the Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year Award over the last eight years also includes:
-- Wrichik Majumdar
-- Anshu Jain
-- Y. Venugopala Rao
-- Niraj Patel
-- Ravneet Ricky
-- Shalab Srivastav
-- S. Vidyut
-- Vinayak Mane
-- Sachin Dholpure
-- Mihir Diwarkar
-- Irfan Pathan
-- Manvinder Singh Bisla
-- Abhishek Sharma
-- Deepak Chougule
-- Shivakant Shukla
-- Uday Kaul
-- Cheteshwar Pujara
-- Gaurav Dhiman
-- Praveen Gupta

Yuvraj Singh won the Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year award two months after his sensational international debut for his performances at the junior and domestic levels in the 1999-00 season, which included the under-19 World Cup.

Ajay Ratra and Parthiv Patel bagged the CASTROL Junior Cricketer of the Year Award for 2000-01 and 2001-02 respectively, and they too, went on to represent India at the highest level.

Ambati Rayudu, the wristy batsman from Hyderabad, was declared the winner for 2002-03 for his remarkable consistency in domestic cricket and on India A's 2003 tour of England.

Irfan Pathan was a nominee for the Junior Cricketer of the Year award in two consecutive years and remains the only cricketer to be nominated for the CASTROL Senior Indian Cricketer of the Year Award in his debut year. His performances for the senior team on the tours of Australia and Pakistan in 2003-04 resulted in his vying with the likes of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag for the main award.

The Castrol Junior Cricketer scheme has discovered enough talent in the form of Yuvraj, Mohammad Kaif, Irfan Pathan, Shikhar Dhawan, Robin Uthappa, Parthiv Patel, Ambati Rayudu and others to serve India for the coming decade.

This year, the contenders for the Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year Award are Manoj Tewari, Piyush Chawla, Robin Uthappa, Ravikant Shukla and Nirja Patel. The winner will be announced at a function to be held in Mumbai on 29th September 2006.

About Castrol Awards for Cricketing Excellence

The Castrol Awards for Cricketing Excellence were instituted by Castrol in 1997 to recognize and honour the present, past and future talent of Indian Cricket. The main awards include the Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year, the Junior Cricketer of the Year and the Castrol Lifetime Achievement. The Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year Award is a democratic award based on the performances of Indian cricketers in International cricket. The Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year Award recognizes and highlights the performances of budding cricketers who are exceptionally talented and who have performed consistently in the domestic season under review. The Castrol Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes and rewards outstanding contribution to Indian cricket.

About Castrol India Limited

Castrol India Limited is a public limited company in which 70.92 % of the paid-up capital is held by Castrol Limited, U.K which is a part of BP Group worldwide. Starting off as a trading unit in India, Castrol has grown to become the largest lubricant company in the retail automotive segment. Castrol has constantly demonstrated its commitment to Indian consumers by offering world class products, backed by the highest level of customer service. Castrol India is acknowledged as the technology leader in the Indian lubricant industry

Contact

Archana Thomas, IPAN, Mumbai, + 91 (022) 2266 1755 / + 91 9322702013
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