On 7th September, 2020, MCA has released a list of candidates who will be in contention for the upcoming season for coaching assignments for various age group teams. Apart from coaches, MCA has also called applications for selectors, physiotherapists & strength and conditioning coaches.
The list of candidates is shortlisted by the CIC-Cricket Improvement Committee and acknowledged by Secretary Sanjay Naik & Jt. Secretary Shah Alam Shaikh.
List of Shortlisted Coaches-
Sr. No Name
- Amit Pagnis
- Salil Ankola
- Pradeep Sunderam
- Umesh Patwal
- Sulakshan Kulkarni
- Nandan Phadnis
- Rohan Bane
- Vinod Raghvan
- Raghuveer Jhala
- Sandesh Kawle
- Wilkin Mota
- Rajesh Pawar
- Pradeep Kasliwal
- Suresh Shetty
- Nilesh Masurkar
- Mandar Sane
- Sunetra Paranjape
- Hemangi Naik
- Sandeep Dahad
- Milind Tamhane
- Onkar Gurav
- Susheel Javle
- Deepak Patil
- Amitabh Velaskar
In the latest episode of Cricketgraph Youngistan is young promising face of Mumbai Cricket-Jash Ganiga. Jash made his A Div debut in Mumbai Cricket at the age of just 14. Jash was also in the Mumbai U14 Probables while he represented Mumbai in the U16 State Team where he scored a brilliant knock of 131 runs in the Vijay Merchant Trophy.
Interviewing Jash is Mumbai Ranji Trophy player and Cricketgraph host Bhupen Lalwani who discusses on a range of topics related to cricket with Jash.
Highlights of interview:
0:35 – Experience of playing A Div Cricket…
4:11- Smashing 131 in Vijay Merchant Trophy for Mumbai…
8:06 – Experience of being part in U16 West Zone Camp
10:15 – Wishlist of Teams and Tournaments
Jwala Singh is one such personality whose passion for the game & madness for perfection can be gauged by the way he explains every story of his life and Yashasvi. An avid national level cricketer himself who had dreams of playing for the nation ensured that if he could not achieve those dreams due to the struggles he faced, he ensured he would train cricketers with full passion to make them achieve their goals.
Jwala Singh the director of Mumbai Cricket Club gets candid with Cricketgraph Host Jalal Shaikh as he shares his life journey from a small town like Gorakhpur to making it big in Mumbai. Jwala Singh also shares about how he spotted Yashasvi Jaiswal who is considered to be the next big thing of Mumbai and Indian Cricket. Coach Jwala also speaks about his tryst with Prithvi Shaw whom he coached for a brief period when things were’nt going too right for him. Jwala Singh also speaks on a range of topics including some important tips on how to deal with pressure in the field of cricket.
0:14 – How the journey started from Gorakhpur to Mumbai Cricket….
3:10 – Reason behind choosing Mumbai to start Cricketing journey…
9:20 – First Cricket Coach?
17:27 – Advice for young aspiring cricketers.
23:30 – How Yashashvi Jaiswal got spotted?
Click here to continue watching part 2
Chirag Khurana is one such player who has many records to his name. He scored a triple century in his U16 days at State level followed by a knock of 409 in a single day in a Maharashtra U19 Club Match, he scored century on debut as an opener for Maharashtra in Ranji Trophy & till date he has over 3000 runs and 129 wickets in the longer format making him a vital cog of the Maharashtra setup.
Here’s a candid chat with Chirag who shares many insightful stories about his journey with our Cricketgraph host Anoop Bindal.
0:23 – Scoring a knock of 409 runs in a single day in a Maharashtra U19 Match…
6:42 – Experience at National Cricket Academy during U23 Days
11:18 – Difference in gameplay after coming back from NCA
13:00 – Player who proved to be influential at NCA…..
14:15 – Experience of taking wickets of Virender Sehwag & Gautam Gambhir in Ranji Trophy
18:15 – Playing down the order for Maharashtra Ranji Team…
20:03 – Dealing with less opportunities in shorter formats for Mahrashtra..
21:47– Reason behind Maharashtra’s average performance in longer format since last few seasons…
23:58 – Experience of playing in Mumbai’s Club Cricket Maidans especially as an off spinner.. 26.:30 – How to stay motivated to follow same routine consistently everyday ?
27:00 – Role Models?
27:50 – Managing batting & bowling at the same time at the highest level?
He is fast, he is furious, he made it to the India U19 Team from a small club in Bihar. His bowling action resembles a lot to his idol Brett lee and yes we are talking about Bihar’s Sabir Khan. Sabir apart from representing India U19 has also made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar.
The best part about Sabir is even after clicking 142+ clicks with the ball at such a raw young age in Asia Cup, he knows how much of hard work, fitness, discipline and consistency it requires. Also he feels it’s unfair to compare himself to a legend like Brett Lee, he quips some legends are once in a generation & you can never be compared with them, all we can do is follow them !
0:36 – Journey of beginning from a small club in Bihar to India U19
3:30 – Experience and learnings from making it in India U19
5:14 – The bondings he created & friends he made from the India U19 Squad
6:00 – Experience of making it in Bihar Ranji Trophy
7:27 – The secret behind his bowling action which resembles “Brett Lee”
9:40 – The highest speed Sabir has clicked so far & the highest he aims to touch…
The Episode 4 of “Cricketgraph Youngistan” is with Mumbai U19 player Tushar Kadam who took 32 wkts in the latest edition of Cooch Behar Trophy. Tushar who did not perform well in his first year of U19 gave a fitting comeback in the 2nd year coming up with match winning performances including a 7 wkt haul vs Karnataka.
Interviewing Tushar is Cricketgraph host & Cricketer Bhupen Lalwani (Current Mumbai Ranji Trophy Player)
Highlights of Interview-
0:36 – Experience of playing in Cooch Behar Trophy’19
4:10 – Career Best 7wkt haul vs Karnataka in Cooch Behar Trophy…
9:54– Experience of playing in Kanga League as a fast bowler…
12:52- Wishlist to represent in teams & tournaments in future….
During this pandemic we at Cricketgraph have been fortunate enough to unearth people from various domains selflessly contributing towards the society in different capacities to fight Covid-19. One more warrior on & off the field is Dr. Ashish Dhadas who is the 1st Phlebosuite in India at Surekha Varicose Veins Clinic which offers the CLACS treatment for Spider Veins and small Varicose Veins. Dr. Ashish has been playing leather ball cricket since last 10 years & he has been doing his best to serve the society too by helping out people in various capacities during this Covid-19 crisis.
Dr. Ashish is also the 1st Surgeon from India to undergo CLaCS training at Clinica Miyake, Brazil in February 2019. Dr Dhadas is also acknowledged by the doctors fraternity for his work in varicose veins. Dr. Ashish is also a part of the Indian Medical Association “Covid Warriors” to help run Fever Clinics for KDMC.
During this pandemic, Dr. Ashish has lent his part to serve and run Fever Clinics at Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation free of cost since March’20.
Dr. Ashish shared with Cricketgraph
“In the initial days of pandemic and even now, it is essential but extremely difficult to keep the non-Covid medical and surgical services running. With help from his staff members, we have managed to do it successfully for patients in Kalyan – Dombivli area.
Dr.Ashish and his staff have been treating non-Covid emergency patients many of whom who need surgeries and other procedures. Contracting Covid infection is always a risk for healthcare workers but those true to the ethics of their profession are doing it keeping the greater good in mind. Apart from that, Dr. Ashish has tried creating awareness videos on social media platforms to allay the fears of non-covid patients. Dr. Ashish further also donated PPE kits worth Rs.10,000/- to Resident Medical Doctors at BMC Hospital.
Talking about Dr.Ashish makes it all the more special because he is also an avid cricketer who has been playing leather ball cricket since last 10 years. Dr.Ashish plays for International Federation of Cricketing Rotarians (IFCR) while he also plays in the Indian Medical Association Cricket League. Apart from that Ashish is one of the founding members of Friends Cricket Club, Dombivli which provides a platform for cricket loving amateurs and professional players in Thane and Mumbai. In 2016, Ashish was adjudged “Player of the Series” in IFCR MUMBAI DISTRICT T20 TOURNAMENT.
The highlight of Ashish’s cricket journey is certainly his score of 58 ball 158* in Indian Medical Association Inter-district tournament in a 15 over game in 2017 – a record still unbeaten in the league. Dr. Ashish has won many trophies as “Best Batsman” in various other cricket tournaments & he continues to be a cricket fanatic.
Ashish’s love for the game can be gauged by the fact that he has bowling machine installed at his home where he and members from his club do net practice in their free time. Cricketgraph acknowledges & appreciates such heroes who not only follow their favorite sport of cricket with full passion but also selflessly contribute for the society using their knowledge and expertise amidst this crisis situation.
Interviewing Aanchal Valanju who has represented Mumbai U16, U19 & U23. Anchal is fondly called the Sehwag of Mumbai Women’s Cricket for her aggressive batting style.
Aanchal Valanju began her journey playing school cricket where she had scored the fastest hundreds in all 3 years of MSSA U16 Manoromabai Apte Tournament. It was her daredevilry approach which helped her represent Mumbai Team. However, injuries did play a spoilsport in her promising career but she is all prepped for the upcoming season where she aims to represent the senior side of Mumbai.
Interviewing Aanchal Valanju is Mumbai Ranji Trophy player & Cricketgraph Host Bhupen Lalwani who has asked her a range of questions related to her cricketing journey.
Cricketgraph envisages on bringing out new cricketing talents every now and then & today we are going to talk about a young left arm seamer Aaron Benjamin who has went on to represent UAE in the U19 Team. Aaron is also an ECB Champion (ECB-Emirates Cricket Board U19) and the youngest ambassador of brand Myprotein AE.
Having a conversation with Aaron, we wanted to know how it all started and for him it was Sri Lanka Team which turned out to be his inspiration since his early days. Aaron who began playing cricket at the age of 7 idolized Lasith Malinga and that’s where the kick of fast bowling hit him. His love for Malinga and Sri Lanka Cricket is quite evident from the fact that Aaron is originally from Sri Lanka and even till date he is open to play first class cricket in Sri Lanka if he ever gets an opportunity. Aaron trains under the mentorship of Coach Aruna Banda while he also received coaching from the Sri Lankan Pace Legend Chaminda Vaas for a brief stint.
It was in 2015 when Aaron was around 15 yrs old things started to change realtime for him in cricket. In 2015, Aaron moved to UAE as his father got a work opportunity there which also opened doors for him in UAE Cricket. Aaron started playing Club Cricket in UAE and till date he is the only fast bowler to take 48 wkts in 3 seasons in UAE U19 leagues. It was his promising display of performances which ensured a UAE National Team call up in 2019 where he fulfilled his dream of playing International Cricket.
However, it wasn’t easy for him, he had his own shares of struggles related to fitness. Aaron shared “Fitness was a big struggle but I overcame it over the time because of hard work and i have one of the best YO-YO test scores in the UAE U19 circuit”
Aaron’s biggest moment was certainly the 2019 Asia Cup where he missed out on a hat trick on his homeground. On his International debut vs India, he came up with crucial blows dismissing both the captain and vice captain of the India U19 team (Pawan Shah & Prabsimran Singh respectively)
Wishing the Sri Lankan origin speedster a great career ahead as he keeps on conquering various accolades in Domestic & International cricket.
DOB-
20.09.2000
Clubs Aaron has played for so far-
- Northside School,
- Broadhurst School, Cubs Cricket Academy,
- Alexandria Cricket Academy,
- Desert Cubs Cricket Academy,
- ICC Academy,
- Sanath Jayasuriya Cricket Academy,
- UAE U19
- Botswana U15.
Coaches
- Aruna Banda (Primary)
- Had a brief stint with Chaminda Vaas
Highest Teams & Tournaments represented-
- UAE U19, Asia Cup 2019
Best Performances-
- Local-6/12 Northside Vs Whitestone College,
- International– 2/11, UAE vs Iran, taking wickets of India U19 captain & Vice Captain in U19 Asia Cup’19
For those who pursue cricket as their profession, they treat this sport as their life, the amount of attachment, emotions & love which a player develops for this game becomes paramount. For a normal person, a bat and ball would just be a “cricket product” but for a professional aspiring cricketer, the bat and ball becomes their life partners and tools for life, it’s their weapon to succeed and survive in this sport.
And when you are at your peak cricketing age between 18 to 24, it’s the most difficult and heart wrenching decision as a cricketer to give up on the sport and stop playing. 19yr old Darshan Negalur from Karantaka is one such boy who took the brave decision of not pursuing cricket as a cricketer but smartly made a move as a sidearm specialist. This decision helped him stay “involved in the game” despite being “not in the game”
Darshan started his cricket career at the age of 12 in Hubli Cricket Academy, from there on he went on to represent at Zone Level while he also played 1st and 2nd Division cricket for HCA Club. However, Darshan knew that competition being intense, the call of the time would be to make a creative jump while at the same time stay connected to cricket.
This is how the story goes….Darshan speaking with Cricketgraph shared-
“Talking about my sidearm profession, when I used to play professional cricket me and my friends used to practice so that he would bowl sidearm to me & in return I used to bowl sidearm to him. Whenever we would do such practice, my friend would often tell me that I am giving seriously quick throwdowns & at that time I had no idea about making it big as a sidearm specialist”
“I was bowling regularly in my club and once I had a chance to bowl in India A nets where I got recognized by none other than Rahul Dravid sir. After that he came to me & asked about my information. I told him that i was a BBA graduate KSCA level O coach. Dravid sir was impressed & told me that we need people like you in NCA & bowling sidearm is a skill & you bowl it very quick”
“After 1 month, i recieved a call from NCA that I was appointed as a throwdown specialist for a commonwealth camp where we had players from different countries who took part in it. After that camp, i was with India team camp for 12 days where i got chance to bowl to Indian players like Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Pujara, Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Shivam Dube, Jadeja, Wridmhan Saha amongst others. Overall it was a great experience being part of National Cricket Academy where in i learnt many things which has helped me a lot now. I have also cleared my level O Coaching Exam and waiting for the results. If my results are cleared then I will be selected for BCCI level “A” exam from KSCA”
The story of Young Darshan who is also the sole earner of his family proves that nothing is impossible and if you manage to think a little out of the box and seize the opportunity at the right time, there is a sea of opportunities waiting for you. From being a Division Cricketer to bowling to Indian Cricketers in the NCA nets and becoming a Level O Coach, Darshan’s case study is certainly an inspiration for many young aspiring cricketers.