Kanbis skipper Dhiren Gondaria receives a trophty feom Ramesh bhalla. Photo: Courtesy
Kanbis, Ruaraka and Stray Lions were among the standout teams in the multi-season Nairobi Cricket Association (NPCA) Awards Gala night which took place at Sikh Union Club.
The colorful NPCA gala feted teams and individuals who performed exemplary well over the past four seasons from 2018/19, 2021/22, 2022/23 through to 2022/24.
Among those who graced the auspicious occasion included Jackson Indakwa from the Sports Ministry, Cricket Kenya supremo Manoj Patel, his Chief Executive Officer Ronald Bukusi and the entire NPCA Executive committee led by Chairman Kanti Rabadia and Secretary Narendra Patel.
Kanbis teams scooped majority of the awards including the 2022/23 season which saw the Eastleigh High School troops sweep the board with victory in the 50-Overs League for their A side in Super Division, the B team in Division One and Development team in Division 2.
In one of the most colorful gala awards in recent times, Stray Lions A were feted for clinching the 50 Overs League Super Division League in the 2021/22 Season ahead of runners up Kanbis A.
Swamibapa A also featured prominently at the gala as they got their mitts on 2022/23 Knockouts trophy with Ruaraka being feted as the runners up.
Thika Road based Ruaraka A were bestowed with the coveted 2023/24 50-Overs League trophy; their first ever after they beat Kanbis to the title on the closing matchday.
Nairobi Club based Kenya Kongonis Cricket Club A collected their silverware for lifting the 2023/24 50 Overs league. Kongonis A tied on 46 points with Ngara Sports Club A but the former was home and dry courtesy of the Net Run Rate Rule.
Kongonis-one of the oldest cricket clubs in the country – will be joining the elite Super Division ranks next season following their division one winning performance.
–Cricket Development–
Sikh Union Development received a standing ovation from the audience for scooping their maiden league title in division 3 during the 2023.24 season.
The momentous gala also feted individual winners in the past four seasons among them Ruaraka’s high flying professional Sachin Gill who was the 2023/24 50 Overs League’s Most Valuable Player.
Sachin, Pushkar Sharma and Swaminathan were the toast of the well-oiled Ruaraka outfit which treated fans to some exhilarating displays.
Stray Lions dangerman Shuhbam Jadhav was feted as the 2023/24 season’s highest run scorer with an amazing 966 which he racked up in 14 innings.
Jadhav is out of the country but will link up with his Stray Lions teammates well in time for the T20 season which starts in January.
Kanbis’ skipper Dhiren Gondaria was feted as the highest run scorer for the 2018/19 season whilst best wicket taker Rajesh Bhudiya and best fielder Rushab Patel were also recognized at the occasion.
Kongonis dangerman Jitendra Singh Gariya was the 2023/24 highest run scorer in Division One with a total of 494. Gariya was also feted as the player of the series in the second tire league.
NPCA Chairman Rabadia lauded teams, officials and the individual winners for going the extra mile in adding the much-needed zest into NPCA’s divisions of play.
“The awards gala will now be a permanent fixture on the NPCA calendar of events and will be held annually. We are looking forward to awarding the man of the matches in every match we hold; hopefully if get sponsors on board and this will definitely make the competitions more exciting. We are calling on sponsors and well-wishers to come and support us” Rabadia noted.
The NPCA Hon Secretary Narendra Patel aka NK on his part remarked: “What we are hosting here at Sikh Union is something that we host annually. But we couldn’t do it on an annual basis over the past few seasons due to unavoidable circumstances; also considering the global outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020.”
