Kiwi Indian leg spin wizard Adithya Ashok has been awarded with the Secondary School Boys Players Player trophy in Cricketer of the Year Awards for 2019-20 by Auckland Cricket.
Sharing the news from Auckland Cricket’s website, father of the cricketer Ashok Dinakaran said he could not be more proud of his son getting this feat for the second time.
Adithya Ashok with his parents at the Auckland Airport
Adithya last won this award when he was in Year 9 in 2016, that made him the youngest secondary school player then to achieve this title. He was only 16 when he debuted for NZ U19 team playing against Australia.
Adithya was awarded the ‘Star Bowler of the National Tournament’ in 2019 when he was played for the Auckland U17 Boys team who won the championship of the New Zealand Cricket’s U17 National Tournament. He had taken six wickets for 12 runs in ten overs with six maiden overs that gave his team a 151-run victory against Northern Districts.
Adithya Ashok (Picture Courtesy: ICC via Getty)
The captain of the XI Boys Cricket team from Auckland’s Mt Albert Grammar School was in the squad of the New Zealand U19 team that finished fourth at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa earlier this year.
He aided the win over Sri Lanka with his 3-38 during the semi-finals at the World Cup.
Better known amongst his teammates as Adi Ashok, he is famous for his quick wicket-taking abilities in matches that cemented his position in the New Zealand’s U19 squad.
Although Auckland Cricket released the list of the winners in April this year, a formal ceremony was not possible due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Adithya Ashok with his medal and team championship trophy in 2019
Earlier last week, Mt Albert Grammar presented the trophy to Adi Ashok at the school assembly for his exemplary performance on the pitch in last one year. At present, Adi Ashok is studying in Year 13.
“I am really proud of Adi, his hard work, perseverance and consistently brilliant performance have rewarded him with this title again,” father Ashok Dinakaran said.
Adi took a brief break after the U19 World Cup this year, but he is back on the field for practice.
“He aims to get into the Auckland Aces team, subsequently making into New Zealand A and then the Black Caps international squad,” Mr Dinakaran said.
Adithya is still eligible to play one more U19 tournament which is scheduled to be held in West Indies for now.
ISSUE
