Border-Gavaskar scholarship winners in Australia

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Border-Gavaskar scholarship winners in Australia

Brisbane, June 19 (IANS) Three young Indian cricketers arrived here Monday to undergo an intense six-week coaching stint under the Border-Gavaskar Scholarship at the Commonwealth Bank Centre of Excellence (CBCE).

Mumbai's Kshemal Vaingankar, a right-arm pace bowler, Karnataka's Gaurav Dhiman, a right-hand opener, and Vadodara wicket keeper Pinal Shah have been picked by an Indian cricket board committee headed by Gavaskar.

The three will work within the Australian Institute of Sports (AIS) men's programme and will have access to all CBCE coaches, said the Australia cricket board.

'Part of the scholarship will see the players compete in the Emerging Players Tournament in July, giving the participants some valuable match practice in Australian conditions,' Cricket Australia (CA) said in a statement.

Vaingankar, a product of the Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy (NCA) in the under-22 age category, took 40 wickets at 15.2 in the last domestic season in India. He has represented Mumbai in the under-22 tournament and was also selected for the All India University Team.

Dhiman, who has been with the NCA in the under-19 group for the past three years, represented India at the under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in February and performed very well. He toured Australia with the Karnataka team last year.

Another under-19 World Cupper and a product of the NCA under-19 programme, Shah performed very well during the past couple of seasons. He has also played in the Ranji Trophy national championship for Vadodora.

The scholarship, named after former India and Australia captains, programme was founded in 2000 as a joint initiative between CA and the Australia-India Council (AIC), a bilateral council of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The programme is designed to provide some of India's most talented young cricketers with training and match practice in Australian conditions, utilising the tutelage and programmes of the CBCE.

This is the seventh scholarship and is made possible by the financial support of the AIC and the Board of the Control for Cricket in India.

CBCE head coach Tim Nielsen said the scholars would certainly benefit from their experience at the CBCE.

'We pride ourselves on delivering the best cricket programs available; and the three scholarship winners will walk away with a lot more experience and understanding of cricket at the elite level and of Australian conditions,' he said.

'They will work with some of their Australian counterparts in the AIS men's cricket programme, and have all CBCE coaches, support staff and facilities available to them. We're sure it will be both an educational and enjoyable experience for the three young men; and we are proud that programmes like this help foster strong cricketing relations between India and Australia.'

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Border-Gavaskar scholarship winners in Australia