As the nation celebrates the World No 1 Test team status of the Indian cricket team, Gatorade - the World’s No. 1 sports drink - today launched the 2010 edition of its highly-successful and eagerly-awaited Pace Bowling Talent Hunt - ‘Gatorade Pacers 2010’.

In an initiative which is likely to go a long way in discovering the next Big Thing in Indian fast bowling - the 4th edition of Gatorade Pacers will give an opportunity to more than 10000 aspiring fast bowlers from across the country to showcase their talent. The selection process will be conducted at six locations: Delhi, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai.

The Gatorade Pacers selection panel, led by former India fast bowler Manoj Prabhakar, will select the best bowlers among the lot, who will then be provided best-in-class training and conditioning to help them further develop their skills. The national winners of the hunt will receive once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be groomed by Manoj Prabhakar and through structured training programs and regular monitoring of progress for a period of three years.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Geetu Verma, Executive Director (Innovation & Business Development), PepsiCo India said, “Gatorade is delighted to have made a difference to careers of many young fast bowlers over past three years, the same way it has helped thousands of athletes all over the world perform at their best over the past four decades. We aim to provide opportunities to talented youngsters and at the same time demonstrate the criticality of optimal hydration to all stakeholders in India’s favorite sport. I am delighted with the progress made. The success that the winners of last three editions of Gatorade Pacers have been able to achieve not only talks about their own caliber but also of this property which provided them a wonderful platform to prove their mettle”.

Present at the occasion, Mr. Manoj Prabhakar, former India pacer, said, “Gatorade is talent spotter and I am privileged to be associated with this unique initiative. What makes this initiative special are the stringent selection criteria that Gatorade Pacers have put in place which is very objective and result-oriented. We do not just look at speed but also accuracy, variation and attitude. This initiative is special to me for another reason – it also inculcates the culture of Sports Science in the players at the young age; which I believe is critical if we were to make the progress from a good cricketing nation to a great cricketing nation.”

Gatorade Pacers 2009 saw 6750 aspirants out of which eight were selected. The National Winners were provided training by Mr. T.A. Sekar and Mr. Wasim Akram in a 15-Day Camp in New Delhi. One of the bowlers was selected for the Railways Ranji Team, one was picked by a UK County Club and one has been selected in the U-19 Railways Squad.

In 2010, Gatorade plans to look at more than 10000 aspirants from over 2000 institutions (schools, colleges, sports clubs, state cricket associations etc.) in Delhi, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. The registration process will begin from 16th December and will continue up to January 5th 2010.

Through this initiative Gatorade aims at bringing the best of training opportunity as well as latest in sports science to grass-roots level pace bowling talent in India. Gatorade’s association with the game of cricket also reinforces its strong credentials as the expert on hydration which is essential for fast bowlers, who lose considerable amounts of salts and water while on field.

Eminent coaches and selectors associated with Gatorade Pacers such as Mr Wasim Akram, Mr Javagal Srinath, Mr T A Sekar, Mr Suru Nayak, Mr Uday Gupte, Mr Venkatpathy Raju, Mr Ashish Kapoor, Mr David Johnson, evaluated the participants during the selection rounds. The selection criteria involved measuring bowling speed with a Speed Gun, Accuracy as measured by line judges and the chief selector’s assessment of the participants bowling action and potential. Two additional parameters – fielding skills and fitness were also included in the national finals round.

The Selection Process
The selection process involves measuring bowling speed with a speed gun coupled with expert’s assessment of action, fitness and potential of the bowler.

Two best bowlers will be selected in three categories – Under -15, Under-19 and Under- 22 Professionals; from each city for the semi-final round. In all, 24 potential pace bowlers will be selected to go through a structured training-cum-selection session to be conducted by India’s leading Fast Bowling Coach, Fitness Expert and Gatorade Master Trainer. The National Selection Camp will be conducted at New Delhi in the 2nd Week of Feb, 2010.

Registration for participation in Gatorade Pacers can be done at www.gatorade.co.in