Sports
Shikhar Dhawan launches a cricket high performance centre in Gwalior
The former India opener wants to build a nationwide network of academies — and he is starting in the heartland
Gwalior: Shikhar Dhawan is done playing. Now he wants to build the system that produces the next generation of players who will. Da One Sports, the performance and pathway-building arm of Dhawan’s Da One Group, has launched its first High Performance Centre (HPC) at the Aditya World Cricket Academy in Gwalior, in partnership with the Madhya Pradesh League and the Bundelkhand Bulls.
The centre is conceived as the first of many. The ambition, plainly stated, is a nationwide network of structured training hubs designed to pull talented young cricketers out of the regions and push them towards the highest levels of the sport.
The Gwalior facility is not a vanity project dressed up in cricket whites. It comes with turf and synthetic pitches, all-weather training nets, strength and conditioning facilities and dedicated recovery zones. Certified coaches, performance analysts and sports science experts are on the staff. Technology-driven tools including video analysis and performance tracking will be used to monitor athlete progression. Talent identification trials will feed a clear pathway from grassroots training to competitive opportunity. Admissions are already open.
Leading the centre as technical director is Saba Karim, the former India wicketkeeper and national selector, a man who has spent a career on both sides of the selection table. Mentorship will come from Madan Sharma, who coached Dhawan as a child and therefore knows better than most what it takes to get a raw talent to the top.
Dhawan, who chairs the Da One Group and won the Arjuna Award for his services to cricket, was direct about his motivation. “Cricket has given me everything, and I have always felt a strong responsibility to give back to the sport in a meaningful way,” he said. “Having experienced the journey myself, I understand what it takes to prepare champions at the highest level. With Da One Sports, our vision is to create a system that nurtures young talent with the right guidance, structure, and mindset, so they are better equipped to succeed. The Da One High Performance Centre is a step towards building that future.”
Anshita Gupta, chief executive of the Da One Group, framed the Gwalior launch as the foundation of something larger. “Our focus is on creating the right infrastructure and pathways that allow young athletes to transition from potential to performance,” she said. “This collaboration enables us to build a strong, structured ecosystem that supports athlete development at every stage.”
Rohit Wadhwa, team owner of the Bundelkhand Bulls and chairman of RW Group, was equally forthright. “The philosophy of Da One Sports strongly resonates with our vision of nurturing budding talent and helping them evolve into elite players,” he said. “This High Performance Centre is a step towards creating that environment, where young athletes are given the right platform, exposure, and support to realise their full potential.”
Mahanaarayaman Scindia, president of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, added that investing in grassroots cricket was essential to keeping India’s cricket ecosystem “sustainable, competitive, and globally dominant in the years ahead.”
India has never lacked for cricketing talent. What it has lacked, repeatedly and expensively, is the infrastructure to find that talent in the towns and districts where it quietly exists and give it somewhere to go. If Dhawan’s network of HPCs can begin to close that gap, the Gwalior academy may one day be remembered as the place where the next Dhawan first picked up a bat. The trials are open. The clock is running.
Sports
Pluckk partners Pickleball Maharashtra Open 2026 as freshness partner
Event from 1 to 3 May in Mumbai to feature clean-label food and experience zone.
MUMBAI: Game, set, snack because even the fastest rallies need a fresh refill. Pluckk, a fresh food-focused digital brand, has been named the Official Freshness Partner for the Pickleball Maharashtra Open 2026, set to take place from 1 to 3 May at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai. Organised by the Maharashtra Pickleball Association, the tournament brings together a growing community around one of India’s fastest-rising sports.
As part of the partnership, Pluckk will introduce an on-ground ‘Experience Zone’, offering athletes and attendees access to quick, clean and functional food options throughout the three-day event. The spread will include 100 per cent natural tender coconut water, cold-pressed juices and plant-based protein bars, all positioned as no-added-sugar, no-preservative alternatives.
The collaboration reflects a broader shift in sports culture, where nutrition is becoming as central as performance. Pickleball’s rapid rise from a niche pastime to a fitness-driven community sport has created space for brands to plug into lifestyle narratives beyond the game itself.
For Pluckk, the association is as much about visibility as it is about positioning. By embedding itself within an active sports ecosystem, the brand is pitching fresh, clean eating as a seamless extension of movement, recovery and everyday wellness.
With the Maharashtra Pickleball Association aiming to expand the sport’s reach and engagement, the addition of nutrition-led experiences adds another layer to the event’s appeal. And for players and spectators alike, the message is clear: staying energised on court now comes with a side of clean convenience.
