Dilip Vengsarkar’s unwavering dedication to the youth is a beacon of inspiration. His keen eye for talent and relentless efforts in nurturing them through his academy are commendable. India’s legendary batter in the 1970s and 80s has taken a step further by announcing a cash award for a promising junior cricketer from Mumbai.
Legendary Indian cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar and Olympian athlete Edward Sequeira are seen with senior journalists, the recipients of the SJAM’s Distinguished Service Awards.
The former India captain, renowned for his three centuries at Lord’s, made an exciting announcement during the SJAM’s Distinguished Service Awards function on Wednesday. He pledged to award a substantial sum of Rs 25,000 to a talented Mumbai under-19 cricketer, a prospect to be identified by the Sports Journalists’ Association of Mumbai (SJAM).
Legendary Indian cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar speaks to the audience about the upcoming ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup in June.
Vengsarkar along with former Tata colleague, India’s middle distance runner, Asian Games medal winner and Olympian Eddie Sequeira, felicitated 18 Mumbai-based senior sports journalists nominated by the SJAM for the Distinguished Service Award.
Vengsarkar, apart from giving his time to nurture talented cricketers in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra, has been a Director of the Bengaluru-based National Cricket Academy (NCA), worked as chairman of the national junior and senior national selection committees and has been an administrator at the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). He is now a member of the all-powerful decision-making Apex Council of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
After he and Sequeira, presented a shawl and a specially crafted memento to the 18 senior sports journalists, Vengsarkar said that India, if it plays to its potential, will go all the way to win the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup, which will be played under the American skies for the first time in June. The business end of the World Cup will be played in the Caribbean Islands.
“India will start as the tournament favourite. The current Indian team is amongst the best in the world. If they had to keep players like (Shubman) Gill (K.L) Rahul and Rinku (Singh) out, then they have to be a good side. If they play as per their ability, I’m sure they’ll win the Cup, but they must believe they are the best in the world.’’ said Vengsarkar.