Bhubaneswar: Odisha cricketers Rajesh Dhuper and Sushree Divyadarshini were conferred with Saheed Sporting ‘Men’s Cricketer of the Year’ and ‘Women’s Cricketer of the Year’ awards respectively at a function in a city hotel here Sunday.
Coming from the U-19 ranks, Rajesh has been a consistent performer for the state in the 2017-18 season. He amassed 275 runs from four games in the Ranji trophy at an average of 68.75.
Dhuper’s match-saving knock of 97 runs (which is also his career best) against Tamil Nadu at DRIEMS ground in Cuttack has been rated very highly. He continued his form in the Vijay Hazare trophy too scoring 164 runs from four games with a best of 70 n o.
Speaking on the occasion, an elated Dhuper said, “It is the biggest award in the state and I feel myself lucky and honoured to get this award. I thank my mother and my U-16 coach Subrat Behera for supporting me all through my journey till now. Without these two people I wouldn’t have been where I am now.”
Right-arm off-break bowler Sushree, on the other hand has been one of the vital cogs in the Odisha senior women’s team for the past few seasons. She took an astounding 30 wickets last season with a personal best of 5/32 against Assam in the U-23 zonal ODIs at Jadavpur University ground in Kolkata.
“I thank Saheed Sporting Club for choosing me for the award and supporting women’s cricket for the last few years. This award will motivate me to do better for the state in the coming years,” Sushree said.
Both Rajesh and Sushree were given cash prizes of Rs 31,000 and Rs 21,000 respectively along with a memento, trophy and a blazer. Former India hockey team captain Dilip Tirkey, Olympian Lazrus Barla, former India cricketer Debasish Mohanty and former India women’s football team captain Sradhanjali Samantaray were also present on the occasion.
