Bhubaneswar: Emerging batsman Raghunath Malla and experienced umpire Nirmal Mishra were chosen Sunday for the prestigious Saroj Mahasuara Memorial Awards this year.
Both Raghunath and Nirmal will be conferred the awards in a special function on the death anniversary of former eminent umpire Saroj here September 6.
Raghunath has been playing junior domestic cricket in the state since last four years. He led the state team in the Cooch Behar Trophy in 2016-17 from the front and accumulated a total of 492 runs in the tournament with the help of two centuries and a half century. He also performed well in different zonal tournaments. On the basis of his consistent performances in the domestic level he was selected into the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore in 2018. Raghunath is a player of Pragati Sporting and ward of renowned coach Kishor Mania.
Nirmal has experience of over 25 years in the field of umpiring. He was appointed as an umpire in the OCA panel in 2006. He is also a renowned sports writer. Nirmal has the experience of umpiring in a number of tournaments like East Zone, Inter-University, All India Level, Odisha Premier League and Inter-District Kalahandi Cup cricket tournaments.
