Castrol Awards to celebrate 75 years of Indian Test cricket

-Business Wire IndiaThe Indian cricket teams 1-0 triumph in the recent Test series in England could not have come at a more opportune juncture. Not only did it restore the spirits of the players and their supporters after the World Cup debacle, but it was also a splendid commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Indias birth as a Test-playing nation.

Mumbai, Sept 28 (ANI: The Indian cricket team's 1-0 triumph in the recent Test series in England could not have come at a more opportune juncture. Not only did it restore the spirits of the players and their supporters after the World Cup debacle, but it was also a splendid commemoration of the 75th anniversary of India's birth as a Test-playing nation.

Indian cricket has come a long way since June 25, 1932, when Col. C K Nayudu led the Indian team onto the turf of the Lord's Cricket Ground, to commence the nation's inaugural Test match.

The platinum jubilee of Indian Test cricket will be celebrated at the Castrol Awards for Cricketing Excellence Ceremony, to be held in Kochi on Tuesday.

The Castrol Awards have been synonymous with Indian cricket since their inception in 1997-98. This year's ceremony will however witness a departure from the usual tradition of honoring Indian cricketers for their outstanding performances in the previous twelve months. Instead, the platinum jubilee of the inaugural Test will be commemorated by felicitating India's greatest test cricketers of all time.

The highlight of the function will be the presence of most of the captains who steered and shaped Indian cricket. Former skippers like Nari Contractor, Ajit Wadekar, Chandu Borde, Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Vishwanath, Bishen Bedi and Dilip Vengsarkar, to name just a few, will be honoured for their contribution to Indian cricket at the function. Amongst the current cricketers, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag - all of whom have captained India in Test matches, will also be felicitated.

As part of the Castrol Cricketing Awards, each year, there is a special Award given away for outstanding performances. Last year's winner was Jhulan Goswami who has just been awarded the ICC Women's Cricketer of the year award. Goswami will attend the function in Kochi. This year, the Outstanding Performance award will be given away to Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team for their victory in the T20 World Cup.

ANI