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Over 90 prizes and cash awards were given away by the VCA at a glittering Annual Awards Function held at the Bilimoria Hall, Civil Lines, Nagpur, on Saturday.
Top individual performers as well as champions and runners-up of various BCCI and local tournaments in the 2024-25 season, were rewarded for their stellar feats with the bat and ball.
Nagpur’s own Grandmaster Ms Divya Deshmukh, the reigning Women’s World Cup Chess Champion graced the occasion as the Chief Guest and gave away the prizes.
Ten-time Ranji Trophy winner and Vidarbha stalwart Mr Wasim Jaffer was the Guest of Honour.
Ms Deshmukh, who won the 2025 FIDE World Cup chess title, making her the first Indian woman to achieve this distinction, was welcomed with a bouquet of flowers by VCA’s Hon. Vice-President Dr Avinash Deshmukh. He also presented her with a silver salver, as a token of appreciation on behalf of the VCA.
Dr Deshmukh appreciated Divya’s wonderful feat which put Nagpur and Vidarbha on the sporting map of the world. He also thanked Divya for sharing her own life’s experiences with Vidarbha’s budding cricketers.
In her speech, Divya said: “This was my first time among so many cricketers and I really enjoyed the ambiance and the excitement. It was great to see the players cheer for one another as they went up to receive their awards. Congratulations to all the winners and good luck for the new season.”
Guest of Honour, Mr Jaffer, who was felicitated by Hon Secretary Mr Sanjay Badkas, said: “It is great to be back in a familiar environment. I enjoyed my stint with Vidarbha as a batsman and feel glad to have contributed to back-to-back Ranji Trophy triumphs.
“Vidarbha have always been very strong at the junior level and I am glad that Vidarbha are now one of the strongest sides at the senior level in domestic cricket. I am happy to be back to help young batsmen of Vidarbha realise their true potential and keep Vidarbha cricket strong and healthy.”
Tushar Suryawanshi received the award for the Best Junior Cricketer Award in the men’s category for his batting while Sanskar Chavate won the equivalent award for his bowling.
In the Junior Women’s category, Arya Pongde received the Best Batter award while young Yashshri Soley once again bagged the Best Bowler award.
Mr Ashish Roshankhede received a cash award of Rs 5000 for being adjudged the Best Ground Marker for the 2024-25 season.
Ms Ankita Guha, who became the first woman umpire from Vidarbha to be inducted into the ICC Panel, was felicitated for this unique feat.
Mr Ullas Gandhe was also felicitated for becoming the first umpire from Vidarbha to officiate in 100 first class matches.
Match Referees Soniya Rajoriya and Nama Khobragade and umpires Pavan Halavane and Vikrant Deshpande were also feted for being inducted into BCCI panels in their respective categories.
There were loud cheers for Coach Usman Ghani, for winning the Ranji and Duleep Trophies with Vidarbha and Central Zone respectively. As many as seven Vidarbha players --- Harsh Dubey, Yash Thakur, Akshay Wadkar, Danish Malewar, Yash Rathod, Aditya Thakare and Nachiket Bhute were also felicitated, along with video analyst Amit Manikrao, for being part of the Central Zone’s Duleep Trophy winning squad.
Former India pacer Prashant Vaidya, who is the Chairman of VCA’s Cricket Administration & Development Committee, said: “It’s our aim to build a strong and competitive structure to make sure that every young talent is harnessed.
After the successful conduct of the VPTL, our aim is to take it to districts at the junior level. We want to catch them young and work on their fitness and strength so that when they come through the pipeline, they are ready to progress to the next level.”
Also present on the occasion were VCA’s Hon. Secretary Mr Sanjay Badkas, Hon. Joint-Secretary Mr Gautam Kale, Hon. Treasurer CA. Arjun Phatak, Mr Alhad Gokhale (Executive Committee Member) Adv. Anand Deshpande, Mr Samir Gujar, Mr Chandrakant Manke.
