It was a warm and sunny afternoon on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, when the California Cricket Academy (CCA) held its annual gala celebrating its 20th anniversary at the Cupertino Library in Cupertino, California. A large crowd of parents, children, volunteers, and local officials attended celebrating the achievements of the academy and its young cricketers.

Starting out with just 23 children twenty years ago, CCA has grown into a community of over 400 young players. California Assemblymember Ash Kalra’s office and the City of Cupertino awarded commendations. Here are some photos from the awards celebration.

Trophies sit on a table waiting to be handed out to cricket players. Photo: Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
CCA co-founder Kinjal Buch (center) troubleshoots technical issues along with volunteers. Photo: Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
Tuan Nguyen, Field Representative with Assemblymember Ash Kalra’s office, holds the Certificate of Recognition for CCA. Photo: Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
Guests sit on the side lawn area at the Cupertino Library for the CCA annual gala. Photo: Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
India Community Center’s CEO Raj Desai (center) at the annual gala. Photo: Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
Meriwest Credit Union Community Relations Manager Helen Grays-Jones. Photo: Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
Manav Nayak, 17, and Khush Bhalala, 18, accept their awards recognizing their achievement in joining the USA Cricket team . Photo: Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
CCA co-founder Hemant Buch as the event MC. Photo: Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
City of Cupertino Councilmember J.R. Fruen at the annual gala. Photo: Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
Former Mayor of Cupertino Sandra James (center) at the annual gala. Photo: Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
Sunnyvale Councilmemember Murali Srinivasan (right) presents awards to three Tapan, Prabhu and Ganesh for being outstanding volunteers. Photo: Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
A young cricketer practices his bowling. Photo: Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
Aaryan Shah shows friends his trophies after winning the MVP award. Photo: Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
CCA Cardinals celebrate their team award as the U11 Deep Foods Cup Champions. Photo: Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
CCA Challengers accept their team award as the U11 VRAI Cup Champions. Photo: Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
Sai Kulkarni holds his trophy, one of several won on Sunday, including those for Best Batter, Best Wicket-Keeper and MVP. Photo: Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
CCA Lightning celebrate their team award as U13 Chaat Bhavan Cup Champions. Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
CCA cricket players watch as the winning award names are called. Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
Shivaansh Singh holds his award for Most Promising Player. Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
Drish Khanna, 7 (center) chats about the award he just won for Most Enthusiastic Player. Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
Friends surround Vihaan Apte as they look at his award. Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local
People stand in line for lunch catered by Chaat Bhavan. Sree Sripathy for India Currents/CatchLight Local

Sree Sripathy joined India Currents as a staff photographer and CatchLight Local Fellow as part of CatchLight's California Local Visual Desk program in June 2022. Reach out with story ideas or comments...