KDMA Kanpur - Uttar Pradesh team wins the National Finals of The Coca-Cola U-16 Cricket Cup 2011-2012

KDMA School Kanpur team from Uttar Pradesh prevailed over Rizvi Spring field School team from Mumbai to win the National Finals of the Coca-Cola U-16 cricket Cup 2011-2012, held at the Western Railway Cricket Ground, Mahalaxmi Mumbai. The winners of the National finals of one of the country’s largest inter-state inter school grassroots cricket championships were felicitated by Mr. Saba Karim Chief Mentor & Former International Cricketer, Mr.Nilesh Kulkarni – Former International Cricketer, Mr. Lalchand Rajput - Former International Cricketer, Mr. Milind Pingle, Senior Vice President – Alternative Beverages Division, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd Mr. P N Sankaran – Director Operations Procam International and Mr. Ajit R – VP – Procam International

The Coca-Cola U-16 Cricket Cup is an initiative undertaken by Coca-Cola India as part of its commitment to promote a sporting culture and healthy active living in the country and is being promoted by Procam International, India’s largest sports and leisure Management Company.

Speaking at the occasion, Milind Pingle, Senior Vice President - Alternative Beverages Division, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd said, “It gives us all at Coca-Cola India, immense pleasure and a great sense of satisfaction that many talented young players have been identified at the grassroots level and will now get groomed to go on to play bigger league games in the future. We are certain that this foundation laid for nurturing cricketing talent in the country will go a long way in taking cricket to the next level. On behalf of Coca-Cola India, I would like to congratulate all the KDMA Kanpur team for an astounding display of talent and wish them the very best for the future. Coca-Cola India has always believed in promoting healthy, active lifestyle through sports. We believe that India has great sporting talent. Some of the best sportsmen have come from the most unassuming of places, and it is our endeavor to give this talent a platform with robust grassroots initiatives like the Coca-Cola U-16 Cricket Cup”.

The Coca-Cola U-16 Cricket Cup, an Inter-school grass root level cricket initiative to discover budding cricketing talent in the country. The program was open to all young cricketers in the age group of 12-15 years. The tournament was played across 10 states in over 65 districts involving more than 11,000 young players from 700 schools. Winners of the Coca-Cola U-16 Cricket Cup were awarded a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh, while the runners-up were awarded Rs. 70,000/-.

Speaking at the event,  Mr. Saba Karim, former Test cricketer and Chief Mentor of the initiative, said, “At the end of the program, the three best players –                                                                                   ‘Coca-Cola Cricket Stars’ will be groomed for a period of three years enabling them to realize their dream of donning International colors. Depending on their core strength, they will also get an opportunity to further hone their skills by attending training camps under the guidance of prominent ex-cricketers. The elaborate structure of the Coca-Cola Cricket Cup ensured that players played some tough cricket and prepared themselves to face bigger challenges.”

Ayush Atri, Captain of a visibly excited winning team said, “It is a proud moment for us to have won the national finals of Coca-Cola U-16 Cricket Cup Tournament. On behalf of the entire team, I would like to thank our coach Manish Malhotra for guiding us to this win. It is an exciting moment and our perseverance and team work has finally paid off. We thank Coca-Cola India and Procam International for organizing a significant tournament of this caliber that truly gives young cricketers like us a platform to showcase our talent.”

Through the tournament, 20 talented players selected from the Coca-Cola Inter-State Challenge will get a chance to attend a week long ‘Coaching Clinic’ under the guidance of prominent former cricketers of the country. Post the week long coaching, the final Coca-Cola XI team will be selected and given an opportunity to prove their mettle by participating in a competitive tournament against the U-16 National team of Sri Lanka.

At the end of the program, three best players –‘the Coca-Cola Cricket Stars’ will be groomed for a period of three years. Depending on their core strength, they will also get an opportunity to further hone their skills by attending training camps of international repute.