Discovering grassroots cricket talent in Sri Lanka

Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Limited (CCBSL) announced the commencement of Season 3 of 'Coca-Cola Cricket Pathway' at the Bloomfield Grounds in Colombo recently.

'Coca-Cola Cricket Pathway' is a series of camps organized by the company in partnership with the Aravinda de Silva Cricket Foundation and Sri Lanka Cricket.

The aim of the camps is to discover grassroots cricketing talent from amongst the youth in Sri Lanka's rural and regional areas and groom them to play in the Sri Lankan national team.

Head Coach, Sri Lanka National Under 19 team, Naveed Navaz announced the launch of the camps in the presence of cricketing legend, Aravinda de Silva, Country Manager, Coca-Cola Far East Ltd, Abhishek Jugran, Country Manager, Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd, Saumindra Bhattacharya and Sri Lanka Cricket officials. Also present at the function were provincial and district coaches and over 73 young cricketers from 125 schools across the districts of Colombo, Gampaha and Puttlam.

Season 3 of the Coca-Cola Cricket Pathway will begin in the capital city of Colombo and this year, Coca-Cola is planning to take the tournament to Jaffna and Galle as well.

Coca-Cola's Cricket Pathway Camp has seen years of continued success following its inception in 2008. Over the years, they have enjoyed a fruitful partnership with the Aravinda de Silva foundation as well as the Sri Lanka Cricket Association.

The collaboration has provided participants with a productive and competitive cricketing experience that enables them to develop their skills and expertise whilst realizing their own potential.

As a result of the rigorous training received by veterans of the game, such as Aravinda de Silva and other prominent coaches, there have been many young, talented players who have emerged to play for the Sri Lankan National Under 19 Team.

The pathway has also seen a number of participants moving forward to join the Sri Lanka National Under 19 Team.

Season 1 of the Coca-Cola Cricket Pathway boasted of 10 participants joining the Sri Lanka National Under 19 team and Season 2 contributed 13 players to the Sri Lanka National Under 19 pool.