On Saturday, May 20, former Mumbai Indians and India coach John Wright and former India cricketer Jhulan Goswami shared their cricketing knowledge with the victors of the Mumbai leg of the third edition of the MI Junior Inter-School Cricket Tournament. Each year, the champions of MI Juniors have the opportunity to attend a private coaching session with members of the MI coaching staff.
Teams from three winning institutions, namely Swami Vivekanand, Borivali (Boys U14 Team), Shardashram Vidyamandir (Girls U15 Team), and Anjuman Islam, CST (Boys U16 Team), were given the opportunity to receive coaching from two prominent cricketers.
Goswami remarked that she had a wonderful time interacting with the children and praised the Mumbai Indians for their efforts on their behalf.
“It was very enjoyable. They’re extremely intelligent. They are competent. When I posed specific queries, they responded spontaneously. I was extremely awestruck. When I was younger, I lacked promptness. They have a deep understanding of their sports, which is a testament to their respective coaches back home. “It is commendable that the Mumbai Indians are taking such initiatives for young men and women,” said Goswami.
John Wright also commented on the session, stating that the children were enthusiastic and that special emphasis was placed on fielding, as fielding is what unites the team.
“It was very entertaining. The children were enthusiastic. There were numerous levels of skill. Some of them were of exceptionally high quality. We attempted to make their experience delightful. They were extremely enthusiastic, and we placed a strong emphasis on fielding. Fielding is what brings a team together, according to Wright.
MI Junior was performed at renowned venues in Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur.
The children participated in a series of training and fielding drills and had the opportunity to pose queries to the coaches. The girls went first, followed by the two boys teams.
Notably, over 400 teams with approximately 3500 boys and girls participated in the third edition of MI Junior across three age groups: Boys U14, Girls U15, and Boys U16. The tournament was held on renowned fields in Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur.
Mrs. Nita Ambani, the owner of the Mumbai Indians, is a supporter of incorporating athletics into the educational curriculum through the Reliance Foundation and ESA (Education and athletics for All).