Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
The Castrol Awards for Cricketing Excellence are the premiere Cricketing Awards in India. Now in their eighth year, the annual Castrol Awards recognize the past, present and future of Indian cricket.
This year, the awards will be given away in two separate functions - one of which was held in Mumbai today. The three awards presented today included:
-- The Castrol Lifetime Achievement in Cricket Award to India's greatest off-spinner - EAS Prasanna
-- The Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year Award which was won by Piyush Chawla
-- The Castrol Special Award which was awarded to Jhulan Goswami for her outstanding bowling on the recent England tour.
The Castrol Cricketer of the Year Award and Outstanding performance awards for current cricketers will be given away at another ceremony which will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in December 2006 during the India - South Africa series. The five finalists for the Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year are Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Naveen Kshatriya, Managing Director, Castrol India Limited said, "It is indeed an honour for Castrol to felicitate some of the greatest talent in Indian cricket. The Castrol Cricketing Awards have been established not just to recognize current performances but also to acknowledge the living legends of Indian cricket and to encourage young talent. Over the years, Castrol has given away numerous awards in recognition of excellence to past, present and future cricketers and we will continue this support".
A member of the greatest spin quartet in the history of the sport, Prasanna bagged 189 wickets from 49 Tests between 1962 and 1978. Accepting the Castrol Lifetime Achievement Award, Prasanna said, "It is indeed an honour to receve the Castrol Lifetime Achievement Award so many years after I have retired from active cricket. Awards like these recognize the effort and achievements that cricketers have put in. By acknowledging the past performances and recognizing future talent, companies like Castrol provide a shot in the arm to retired cricketers as well as youngsters who are waiting to make their entry into the national team".
The Castrol Lifetime Achievement award which comprises of a trophy and a cheque for Rs. 5 lacs was handed over to Prasanna by former India captain Ajit Wadekar and Naveen Kshatriya, Managing Director, Castrol India Limited. The previous winners of this coveted award are Capt. Vijay Hazare (1999-00), Polly Umrigar (2000-01), B. S. Chandrasekhar (2001-02), Sunil Gavaskar (2002-03) and Kapil Dev (2003-04).
The Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year Award was won by Piyush Chawla, the gifted leg-spinner from UP whose consistency at the domestic and junior levels won him a place in the Indian test squad for the home series against England earlier this year. He was selected for this award by a panel comprising Praveen Amre, Anuraag Thakur and Sanjeeva Rao, members of the National Junior Selection Committee, and Mr. Raju Mehta, Talent Research Development Officer, West Zone - BCCI. The award was received on Chawla's behalf by Lalchand Rajput, coach of the Indian Under 19 team, from Praveen Amre and A. S. Ramchander, Automotive Director, Castrol India Limited.
The Junior Cricketer of the Year award has earlier been won by Jyoti Yadav (1997-98), Rajesh Pawar (1998-99), Yuvraj Singh (1999-00), Ajay Ratra (2000-01), Parthiv Patel (2001-02), Ambati Rayudu (2002-03) and Shikhar Dhawan (2003-04).
Another highlight of the function was the felicitation of Jhulan Goswami, the fastest bowler in women's cricket, for her world record match-winning ten-wicket haul on India's recent tour of England. The Castrol Special Award trophy and a cheque of Rs.1,00,000/- was handed over to Jhulan by V. Srikanth - Vice President Marketing, Castrol India Limited.
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 Award. 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.
Sandesh Advani, IPAN, Mumbai, + 91 (022) 4066 1755 / + 91 9820194678 sandesh.advani@ipan.com
Source: Castrol (Business Wire India)
Press release presented here is sourced from the Source mentioned above and is provided on as-is basis. Please contact the Company / Source directly for any further information in regard to this release. This website will be unable to assist you in regard to the accuracy or correctness of information in this release.
