With an aim to identify promising cricketing talent in the country, Coca-Cola India today rolled out the Coca-Cola Cup Under-16 inter-school tournament in partnership with Procam International under the mentorship of former India Test cricketer Saba Karim.
Published: Oct 19, 2011, 06:40 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 19, 2011, 06:40 PM (IST)
The winning school will get a cash prize of Rs 50,000 © Getty Images
New Delhi: Oct 19, 2011
With an aim to identify promising cricketing talent in the country, Coca-Cola India today rolled out the Coca-Cola Cup Under-16 inter-school tournament in partnership with Procam International under the mentorship of former India Test cricketer Saba Karim.
The Delhi leg of the tournament will commence from October 21. The winning school from Delhi will get a cash prize of Rs 50,000 while the runners-up will be richer by Rs 30,000.
The initiative was announced by Sunil Dev, sports secretary, DDCA, in the presence of former India cricketers Vinod Kambli, Vijay Dahiya, Sharandeep Singh and Karim.
“Coca-Cola is providing the right kind of platform to the young Indian cricketers. When me and (Sachin) Tendulkar started our careers, we used to participate in many school-level tournaments. The initiative will help identify and promote young talent in the country,” said Kambli.
“I would like to urge Saba Karim to tell the youngsters the value of Test cricket. The real cricket is Test cricket.
With corporate giants like Coca-Cola coming into picture to unearth talent at the grassroot level, I feel the future of Indian cricket is very bright,” added Kambli.
The tournament will involve over 200 days of cricketing action spread across a period of nine months in 65 districts in eight states and two centres, under the aegis of the respective state cricket associations.
“This tournament will serve as an ideal platform to promote grassroot cricket, identify promising talent and groom the country’s next generation of international cricketers,” said Karim.
The Delhi intra-city leg of the tournament will involve participation from leading under-16 teams from 64 schools in the city, with matches being played on seven cricket grounds.
Winners of the Coca-Cola U-16 Cup will be awarded a cash prize of Rs one lakh, while the runners-up would get Rs 70,000. (PTI)
