AN OVERSEAS student at Ellesmere College has appealed for help in his pursuit of playing professional county cricket.

Vansh Bajaj, 19, (pictured) left his native New Delhi in 2014 after he enrolled at Oswestry School on a cricket scholarship programme.

A series of impressive performances for the school side convinced Ellesmere College to offer Vansh an extended cricket scholarship which allowed him to continue studying in the UK

Vansh excelled while playing for Ellesmere Cricket Club's first team in 2015, where he amassed 500 runs and took 40 wickets in the 128 overs he bowled. Successful appearances for Whitchurch Cricket Club in the Birmingham & District Premier Cricket League and Shropshire’s U21 county team followed as Vansh’s ascent in the game continued.

With his studying at Ellesmere almost complete, he has now trained his sights on securing a place at one of the UK’s six MCC universities, which offer talented young cricketers the chance to receive top-level coaching while in higher education.

However, Vansh’s father is in poor health and his family are unable to fund the cost of three years’ study in the UK, which would amount to an estimated £46,000.

As a last resort, Vansh has now launched an online donation appeal to help him fulfill his cricketing ambitions.

He said: “My parents are 70 and 60, and my father was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago, impeding his ability to work fully and support me entirely. As my parents are unable to support me in the entirety of these costs, I have started a crowd-funding page.

“It is only because of the generosity and charitable nature of schools such as Oswestry School and Ellesmere College that I have been able to follow my dreams so far.

“My current aim is to achieve the academic results to get into an MCC university and from then on play matches against major county teams. Eventually, my aim is to play for a major county team. I have accepted a conditional offer from Anglia Ruskin University and hope to play for Cambridge MCCU next year.”

To date, a dedicated gofundme page which details Vansh’s plight has reached £1,000 in donations, but it currently falls well short of the required total. 

To pledge a donation online to go https://www.gofundme.com/2umw5x4c