New Delhi: Following an intensive training week with the best of cricketing talent at the Coca-Cola Cricket Cup U16 Coaching Camp, the final Coca-Cola XI squad was announced in Mumbai at Air India Ground on Sunday. The announcement was made by Saba Karim, Former Test cricketer and Chief Mentor of the initiative along with Anthony Adams (Head Coach, Cricket India Academy), Sanjay Bhardwaj, Coach of Coca-Cola Cricket Cup and Chetan Sharma, Former Player and P.N. Sankaran, Procam International.
Of the 27 young cricketers who were a part of the Coaching Camp, the best 15 are picked up for the final squad. The Coca-Cola XI will play against the foreign Team a three match series, scheduled in the month of May.
The team will be lead by Muklit Bhatt from Delhi thanks to an impressive display of cricket and technical skills during the Inter State Tournament and the training camp. The Coca-Cola XI are Captain, Muklit Bhatt, Rajesh Tangri, Rishab Drall, Prashanth Vashishta (Salwan Boys Senior Sec. School, Delhi), Shoeb Khan, Jahangir Ansari ( Al. Barkat Malik M. I. English School, Mumbai), Daryl Ferrario, Joy Kenny (Don Bosco M Higher Secondary School, Tamil Nadu), Mohsin Ali (Sports Campus College, Lucknow , UP), Amrit Lubana (DAV Sr.Secondary School,Punjab), Karan Pawar, Saurin Thakar (Shreyas Samarpan Vidyalay, Baroda), M.Rafi – AP (AVR E-Techno School, Vijayawada), Praneet Raj (St. Jones Jr. College, Hyderabad) and Atul Kushwa (Kiddy’s Corner Higher Secondary School, Gwalior (MP).
Three players who perform exceedingly well during the series will meet the criteria to travel to the United Kingdom in the next few month to further carve a bright cricketing future for themselves. Procam International will nurture these boys both on and off the field, enabling them to make the best use of their talent and be given opportunities to succeed in the sport of cricket. Players from the previous edition who were provided with an opportunity to hone their skills in the UK were Shivam Chauhan, Delhi, Vikas Dixit, Delhi and Pranjul Puri, Indore.
The 15-player squad was selected based on their technique, talent and passion for the game. The coaching clinic was conducted by renowned cricketers and coaches that included Anthony Adams (Head Coach, Cricket India Academy), Sanjay Bhardwaj, Coach of Coca-Cola Cricket Cup and Chetan Sharma, Former Player.