PA/12/08 16 October 2008
Australia-India Council Women's Cricket Scholarships
The Australia-India Council (AIC) has announced the establishment of a new AIC Women's Cricket Scholarship.
The first recipient athletes include Pallavi Bharadwaj, a left-arm medium pace bowler, and opening batswoman and leg spin bowler Thirish Kamini.
Both the athletes, accompanied by coach Sudha Shah, participated in various skill sessions with experienced Cricket Centre of excellence (COE) coaches in Brisbane, as well as took part in a three-day Australian Women’s Team Camp.
“The scholarships demonstrate the collaboration between our two countries in cricket, and comes at a time when there is great interest in the ongoing men's cricket series with the two teams playing for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, instituted by the AIC,” said Mr John McCarthy, Australian High Commissioner to India. “This is the first time that the Cricket Australia International Program has been extended to include women athletes. The program will create new linkages between players in Australia and India in women’s cricket”, he added.
The initiative was developed by the AIC in partnership with Cricket Australia and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The initiative was welcomed by the Australian Foreign Minister, Mr Stephen Smith, and the Indian Minister for External Affairs, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, when they met in Australia in June 2008.
The women’s scholarship program for cricketers follows the success of the AIC ‘Border-Gavaskar Scholarships’, which allow promising young male cricketers from India to attend the Brisbane COE for up to six weeks of intensive training. Many past recipients of the scholarships have gone into national and international selection, including two players from the current test squad, batsman Gautam Gambhir and bowler R.P. Singh.
The Border-Gavaskar scholarships were established in 2000, and are named in honour of cricketing legends and former captains Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar. Border was a founder-member of the AIC Board from 1992 to 1995 while Gavaskar is a founder-member of the AIC’s Indian equivalent, the India Australia Council, formed in 1995.
The AIC was established by the Australian Government in May 1992 to broaden and deepen Australia-India relations through contacts and exchanges in a range of fields which promote mutual awareness and understanding. AIC programs and activities are a form of “second-track diplomacy” conducted in parallel to, and in support of, government to government contacts and exchanges.
For further information, please contact, Ms Asha Das, Country Manager, Australia- India Council, on (0) 9810860451.