Foxes star is recognised for his work on equality and diversity
LEICESTERSHIRE player Abi Sakande has been announced as the overall winner of the 2021 Professional Cricketers Association Futures Awards.
Right-arm medium bowler Sakande, 27, claimed the coveted personal development prize after impressing the judging panel with the scope of his activities away from the cricket pitch.
He was awarded the most successful individual in the Current Player category, and the outstanding candidate from the process, which gained a record number of 25 applicants.
The Leicestershire seamer receives a prize of £3,000 to go towards his personal development.
Released by Sussex in October 2019, Sakande used his time away from the game to work on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) projects with both the PCA and the Sussex Cricket Board.
He also began an MSc in Environmental Anthropology at the University of Kent before being signed by Leicestershire during the 2021 season.
Sakande plans to use his prize money to fund fieldwork for his Masters degree which involves him traveling to west Africa. For the first time, the event was supported by PCA partner Lodders Solicitors.
Sakande said: “I’m very grateful to the PCA and Lodders for having set this up and invested in me, so thank you very much.
“I’m glad that they’ve recognised the value of what I’ve been doing and what I plan to do with the prize.
“I feel like the hard work has really paid off.
“I’ve grown and changed a huge amount as a person through all of these off-the-field activities.
“Some of that was forced by lockdown but I also wanted to push
myself, and in the long run I’m in a much better position sitting here today to go in a confident direction once cricket ends.
“For that reason, it’s definitely paid off.
“I would 100 per cent recommend anyone to apply for the Futures Awards.
“It took me a while to convince myself, but it’s a really simple process and a valuable experience regardless of who wins.
“There’s nothing to lose and you could win, which would be a huge bonus!”
The Futures Awards, which are part of the PCA’s Personal Development and Welfare Programme (PDWP), ask candidates to apply via an online form on the PCA website.
Shortlisted candidates are then invited to deliver a presentation followed by a question and answer session based around their personal development.
Glamorgan all-rounder Joe Cooke claimed the Newcomer prize, and Vishal Tripathi won the Past Player award, with the category winners receiving £2,000 to further their off-field aspirations.
Cooke, 24, has led the players’ voice on climate change, and attended the historic COP26 conference in Glasgow, where he spoke on multiple athlete panels.
Tripathi, 33, retired from cricket in 2012 to become a doctor and will use his prize to undertake postgraduate exams and training courses in his quest to become a surgeon specialising in trauma and orthopaedics.
He also hopes to inspire other cricketers to consider a career in medicine after leaving the sport.
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