He was speaking during the felicitation function organised by Nagpur Cricket Academy (NCA), in which total of 61 players were honoured for their outstanding performances in BCCI tournaments during the 2024–25 season. Among the awardees were five IPL players—Jitesh Sharma, Harsh Dubey, Yash Thakur, Darshan Nalkande, and Atharva Taide—who brought glory to the academy and the region on the national stage.
Justice Deshpande raised the academy's efforts and emphasized the importance of building the temperament to accept both success and failure.
The occasion also saw the felicitation of Yash Rathod, the highest run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy, Akshay Wadkar, the captain of Vidarbha's Ranji team, and Sanjeet Desai who scored almost 693 runs with the average of 77 in Ranji trophy from Chhattisgarh for their exemplary performances.
In a remarkable show of inclusivity and progress, 10 women cricketers were also honoured, including international cricketer Mona Meshram, along with Latika Inamdar, Arti Bhenwal, Riddhima Maradwar and Arya Pongde recognizing their contributions to women’s cricket in the region. In different age groups of boys, Ganesh Bhosle, Satyam Bhoyar, Md. Faiz, Vedant Dighade, Malhar Dhurad and Raunik Hedau were also felicitated for their contributions.
Madhav Bakre, Director of Nagpur Cricket Academy, proudly stated that NCA may be the only cricket academy in India to have 61 players represent in BCCI-level matches in a single season. Those who were present on the occasion include
Chandrakant Manke from VCA and T. Sudhindra from Chhattisgarh. The programme was smoothly conducted by Dr. Ram Thakur and the vote of thanks was given by Ravi Kulkarni.