Leg-spinning great BS Chandrasekhar will receive this year's Castrol Lifetime Achievement in Cricket Award. A member of the celebrated quartet that spun India to many a Test victory in the 60s and 70s, Chandra bagged 242 wickets from 58 Test matches in a Test career that stretched from 1963 to 1979.

Afflicted with polio at an early age, he turned his weakened right arm into a lethal weapon that destroyed opposing sides. The Castrol Lifetime Achievement Award comprises a trophy and a cheque for Rs 5 lacs. Previous winners of the Castrol Lifetime Achievement Award are Capt Vijay Hazare (1999-00) and PR Umrigar (2000-01).

Parthiv Patel, the youngest wicketkeeper to play Test cricket, will receive the Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year Award. His achievements in the Castrol Year of 2001-02 (1st Oct 2001 to 30th Sept 2002) included his leadership of the Indian team that made it to the semi-finals of the under-19 World Cup, held in New Zealand early this year. He went on to tour South Africa and Sri Lanka with the India 'A' side.

Parthiv will win a trophy and a cheque for Rs 50,000. The Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year Award has been won earlier by Jyoti Yadav (1997-98), Rajesh Pawar (1998-99), Yuvraj Singh (1999-00) and Ajay Ratra (2000-01).

The race for the 2001-02 Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year Award is hotting up, with the votes coming in for the five finalists : Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh. The Award comprises a trophy and a cheque for Rs 5 lacs.

The fifth Castrol Awards Ceremony is being held in Chennai on 16th October 2002.

© PMG