Aradhya Shukla ready to make waves in cricket

Anil Datt

Ludhiana, December 25

Aradhya Shukla, an upcoming cricketer from Ludhiana, has impressed one and all with his fine all-around performance during the last two years.

Aradhya, a student of Class VIII at DAV Public School, Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar branch, started playing the game three years ago, when he joined the coaching camp at local Khalsa College for Women under the guidance of senior cricket coach and former District Sports Officer Charanjeet Singh Saini.

After learning the basics there, Aradhya joined the cricket academy at DAV School, BRS Nagar, that commenced two years ago. He continued with his training at the school ground under the watchful eyes of sports instructor Amandeep Singh.

Aradhya began as a medium pacer and participated in the school games, wherein he made his presence felt and helped his side secure the runners-up trophy in the district championship. This was followed by another useful contribution with the ball in the state championship, which paved the way for his team to win a silver medal.

Aradhya got selected for the district team (U-14) to take part in the Punjab State Inter-District Cricket Tournament, during which he grabbed eight wickets in three matches.

This performance got him a place in the Punjab probables to attend camps under the aegis of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) held at the PCA stadium, Mohali, in May this year and at Dhruv Pandove Stadium, Patiala, in the month of June.

During these camps, Aradhya received very encouraging remarks by senior PCA coaches Arun Bedi and Davinder Arora.

Aradhya, of late has developed his batting skills also. He performed brilliantly with the bat and ball in the Ludhiana District Zonal Tournament (U-17) held two months ago, in which 23 teams took part. Aradhya scored total 150 runs including two match winning knocks of 41 not out and 26 runs to steer his team to secure the third place.

He also made a valuable all-round contribution in the Ludhiana Sahodaya Schools Complex Tournament (U-17).

Aradhya follows a strenuous coaching schedule, practicing for two hours daily in the morning at the school cricket academy and over two hours in the evening at the regional coaching centre run by the Ludhiana District Cricket Association under the auspices of the Punjab Cricket Association.

Appreciating his improvement in a short span of time, Aradhya’s coach Amandeep Singh said he would make waves in cricketing arena in near future.

Principal of DAV School, BRS Nagar, Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu wished Aradhya achieve success at the state and national tournaments. She also lauded coach Amandeep’s efforts in polishing the upcoming cricketer’s game.