Oman Cricket Awards: Benjamin, Shuaib secure top honours at awards ceremony
Date
10/3/2016 1:25:22 AM
Benjamin Thomas of Premier Division side Passage to India was crowned as the best player of the 2015-16 season at the annual awards function of Oman Cricket (OC) held at a Muscat hotel on Wednesday.
Benjamin's recognition came at a time when the player was selected to play for Andhra Pradesh in the next edition of the Ranji Trophy, India's premier domestic tournament. In his absence, his award was collected by Passage team owner K K Mohandas. Omani cricketer Shuaib al Balushi had a busy time collecting honours, bagging as many as five trophies. He played for three sides last season - National Youth Development Team (NYDT), OCT Muscat A and Al Mardhuf. Thilanga Sumathipala, the president of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), attended the ceremony. During the event, various division champions and top individual performers were honoured by the chief guest, H E Sheikh Saad al Saadi, the Minister of Sports Affairs. Also present were former Sri Lankan Test star and Oman's bowling coach Rumesh Ratnayake, Asian Cricket Council (ACC) official Thusith Perera, OC board members and senior sports officials. Sumathipala addressed the audience and hailed the progress of cricket in Oman. 'Cricket here is on the right track and the country being ranked 16th in the world is creditable,' said the SLC chief, who is also heads the ACC development committee. Sumathipala, a member of the ICC's development committee, pointed out that the following for the Oman national team has gone up considerably following its success in international T20 tournaments and the ICC World Cricket League Division 4. The Lankan board chief also congratulated the Oman U19 team for its 142-run win against Thailand on Tuesday in the ongoing U19 ICC World Cup qualification Division 2 tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Oman next plays against Kuwait on Thursday. Later, Sumathipala told Muscat Daily, 'With OC, we have discussed bilateral ties. SLC would be glad to send its U15 national team to Oman in the future. We would also love to host the Oman U19 team in Sri Lanka for camps, if it makes it to the U19 World Cup.' H E Saadi launched the official website of OC, omancricket.org, on the occasion, after which OC curator Mohammed Ishaq was given a send-off following his retirement. Speaking at the 30th annual awards ceremony, Pankaj Khimji, a senior OC board member, revealed that a deal would be inked on October 3 this year as part of OC's initiative to build a clubhouse at Al Amerat and headquarters by October 2017. He added that electronic scoreboards would be put up in a month's time at both the grounds. The second ground is ready, he said, featuring ten playing wickets, alongside 12 on the sidelines. Individual awards: Premier Division: Best batsman: Swapnil Khadaye (Muscat CT), best bowler: Mohammed Bilal (Passage to India). A Division: Best batsman and best allrounder: Shuaib al Balushi (NYDT), best bowler: Jaspreet Singh (NYDT). B Division: Best batsman: Babar Malik (Al Nahdha), best bowler: Adnan Hussain (Bisya), best allrounder: Aadil Mohammed (Fair Trade). C Division: Best batsman, best bowler and best allrounder: Hafiz Zaid Ejaz (SARCO). D Division: Best batsman: Prasad Peruli (Landscape), best bowler: Imran Ali (Future Oilfield). E Division: Best batsman: V Giridharan (Atkins), best bowler: George Jerrin (Global Money Exchange). F Division: Best batsman: Suraj Rao (Al Bahihi), best bowler: Jeason Jacob (Kairali Restaurant). G Division: Best batsman: Mohammed Mifas (Rukeen al Yakeen), best bowler: Abhishek Kalla (RK Group). H Division: Best batsman: Siddharth Oza (NBO), best bowler: Zafar Iqbal (NBO). I Division: Best batsman: Sushil Kadam (Khalsa United), best bowler: Arvind Singh (Khalsa United). J Division: Best batsman: Aditya Dalvi (Qurum Business Group), best bowler: Prasobh Mohan (Hussain Fadhil & Partners). Omani players (playing for one team): Best batsman: Ameet Sampat (Al Ansari), best bowler: Haroon al Balushi (OCT Al Hail A). Omani players (playing for more than one team): Best batsman, best bowler & best allrounder: Shuaib al Balushi (OCT Muscat A, NYDT, Al Mardhuf).