FORMER Mumbai, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh and Assam’s coach-player Sulakshan Kulkarni began a year-long cricket coaching programme at Akola and Nagpur centres recently for benefit of upcoming cricketers. The camps have got fantastic response with nearly 150 players (age groups U-10, 12, 14, 19 and 23) benefiting from its first camp at RDG Girls College Ground in Akola. A bunch of 30 talented players, after early coaching-cum-screening sessions, were selected for advanced six days coaching at Akola. Players from Mumbai also participated in coaching-cum-practice matches.

 

 

Later, about 30 to 35 young boys from Akola, Nagpur, Mumbai and Chhattisgarh and other districts of Vidarbha were short-listed and are presently attending a ten days (Dec 25 to Jan 3, 2021) specialised camp at Dhanwate National College’s Vasant Nagar ground. Emphasis on this camp besides cricket is on players’ future career development, media interactions and other sporting options etc. Kulkarni, who is acknowledged as one of the best in business, is also receiving large response from entire Vidarbha and is also getting trainees not only from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and other parts of India but also from Middle East and USA for extended advanced coaching programme.

 

 

 

The former Mumbai player leads a team of former First-Class cricketers and qualified coaches to monitor the regular coaching programme with him as mentor overseeing the regular progress of both the camps. Kulkarni, as chief coach, had guided Indian men’s disabled cricket team to victory during World Cup 2019 in England. Rajan Nair, former First-Class cricketer and BCCI’s ex-media manager had also developed a special programme to guide the young budding cricketers on their career growth and to widen their scope of horizon with cricketing skills. Talk show on the subject was also part of the camp.