Ashok P. Patel To Be inducted Into Cricket Hall Of Fame
Ashok P. Patel, President of the USA Cricket Academy since 1999, is among the 2023 nominees for induction into the USA Cricket Hall of Fame. Ashok started playing youth cricket while growing up in England and represented the MCC ground staff at cricket at age 16. He was on the ground staff panel for three years, where he learned administrative areas of the game while obtaining ECB Levels 1 and 2 coaching certifications from the England Cricket Board. He later represented Essex County’s 2nd XI and ground staff teams in the United Kingdom and was selected to play for the Tasmania Cricket team in Australia.
Ashok’s father founded the first-ever not-for-profit National Cricket Academy in 1999, and Ashok has steered the academy as its President to help youth cricket players in the USA. He served as a Board member of USACA’s Youth and Junior Development Program from 2001 to 2004.
The recipient of global and regional awards from the ICC in 2003 and 2004 for the Best Junior Development Initiative (the first-ever youth program academy to receive such recognition), Ashok was recognized locally by the Garden State Cricket League for Outstanding Leadership and Community Service in 2002 and 2003.
USA Global Cricket Academy revised its name in 2014 and conducted more tours than all other academies during the last two decades. USA Global Cricket Academy nurtured almost the entire team with full support for the first-ever U19 USA team to a Cricket World Cup in 2006. He served as manager for the USA U19 Cricket World Cup team and many other academy and regional tournament teams in the USA.
Besides operations and managerial duties, Ashok P. Patel has sponsored and organized many international tours for the USA Cricket Academy’s youth teams to participate in competitions and tournaments worldwide. He has worked with regional and national media companies to promote cricket with local and regional government officials to bring in over $2M in sponsorships for youth cricket development.
Ashok Patel received the President’s Award for Excellence from the Cricket Hall of Fame during its 2002 Induction Ceremony. He was presented with the award by the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, the first-ever Indian player to be inducted into the Cricket Hall of Fame and on the recommendation of Sir. Vivian Richards.
Ashok was nominated for induction into the Cricket Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023 by Jyotsna Patel, a USA Cricket Hall of Famer and USA’s women selector and former India women’s Test player who played in the inaugural India Test match involving a women’s XI.
Supporting Ashok Patel’s nomination into the USA Cricket Hall of Fame is current USA Cricket Hall of Famers Ivy Mahabir, USA umpire and coach; Jatin Patel, renowned multi-sport coach; and Ajodhi Mahadeo.
