Bangalore: The Castrol Awards for Cricketing Excellence, the premier cricketing awards, recognizing outstanding performances by Indian cricketers past, present and future were given away at Bangalore for the year 2011 with Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni bagging the top honours.
Dhoni was declared the Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year 2011 while Ajit Wadekar received the Castrol Lifetime Achievement Award and India’s Under 19 World Cup winning Captain Unmukt Chand was awarded the Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year Award.
Speaking on the occasion, Ajit Wadekar said: “It is indeed an honour to receive the Castrol Lifetime Achievement Award. I am delighted that Castrol is not just focusing on the present but also on the past and future cricketers”.
India Under 19 Captain, Unmukt Chand, fresh from his Under 19 World Cup win was delighted to receive the Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year Award for 2011. Commenting on the Award, Unmukt said: “It is my privilege to receive the Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year Award especially as it was handed over to me by Virat who has been a real inspiration not just to me but my team mates as well”.
The other prestigious awards given away during the evening included:
• Sachin Tendulkar (Castrol Batsman of the Year)
• Ravichandran Ashwin (Castrol Bowler of the Year)
• Rahul Dravid (Castrol Test Cricketer of the Year)
• Suresh Raina (Castrol ODI Cricketer of the Year
Castrol Special Achievement Awards were also given away to Yuvraj Singh (for his ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 player of the tournament Award), Virender Sehwag (Highest run scorer in ODIs) and Sachin Tendulkar (for his 100th century).|
Two new awards were also instituted this year for performance under pressure. The Castrol standout Performance under Pressure Award was presented to Gautam Gambhir for his outstanding performance in the ICC 2011 World Cup final. The Castrol Performance under Pressure Award for the player who consistently delivered under pressure throughout the year, was won by Virat Kohli.
By Indian Sports News Network
