Cricket Collective Champion: Hardip Jheeta

Hardip Jheeta, of Leamington Khalsa, Warwickshire Cricket Foundation's Cricket Collective Champion 2026

Hardip Jheeta, of Leamington Khalsa CC, scooped the Cricket Collective Champion award at the recent Cricket Collective Awards ceremony held at Edgbaston

Joe Chapman

2026-10-22T15:00+01:00

Playing cricket at Leamington Khalsa comes with its own challenges.

Take the ground, for example. Where the club’s Lighthorne base is was once a quarry, meaning there are only four inches of soil sitting on rock. Imagine tending to that this past summer, when soaring temperatures and extensive dry spells have hit the UK hard.

The efforts of those at the club simply to get cricket on has been commendable, but Khalsa do look to maintain high standards when it comes to preparation, despite most of their squad not exactly living around the corner.

Those efforts were recognised by Warwickshire Cricket Foundation at the recent Cricket Collective Awards held at Edgbaston, a ceremony in which Khalsa member and Warwickshire Seniors player Hardip Jheeta collected the Cricket Collective Champion award.

“Where we are located in Lighthorne is probably the most southern ground in the Warwickshire vicinity,” Hardip explained. “Our players largely come from Leamington or Warwick, and it’s at least a 20-minute journey to the ground - trying to get players there on time is a challenge as it is!

“I have been at the cricket club for 20 years now and it is a small family of volunteers who do the majority of the work, but it is done to a standard we want to aspire to. If it is not, we are not going to get a good quality of cricket.

“It’s like snooker - if you get a good snooker table you will get good performance, but it is a challenge.”

Khalsa work closely with Lighthorne Parish Council and use and maintain their multi-purpose sports field to get cricket matches on - although the long-term goal remains to own their own site in time.

“We have always had the challenge with the ground but this summer, particularly, it has been drying out and cracking,” Hardip admitted.

“It would be lovely at some point to get our own ground, but trying to find a ground and the cost of one makes it difficult.

“We are a part of the LKCC sports facility in Leamington, with hockey and football too, multiple sports under one umbrella organisation.

“We do get small amounts of funding, but ideally we would like to be on one site. We would need ten acres. It is a challenge, but we are looking. If we do that, we will progress.”

It isn’t just on-field hurdles which Khalsa, whose first XI finished seventh in Division 4 of the Warwickshire Cricket League this season, must face and look to overcome.

“We are perhaps 99% of Asian ethnicity and that comes with its own challenges. There are barriers which still need to be broken down,” Hardip explained.

“I keep close with Andy [Wyles], Sam [Wyles] and Richard [Evans] at the Foundation and we discuss ways in which we can help other teams who face similar challenges. We must do so because we want to play this game for as long as we can.”

Khalsa have welcomed new players to their club in recent years, many of them from South Asian backgrounds for whom cricket at the weekend is a way to build friendships and enjoy a positive sporting environment.

“The wellbeing factor is huge,” Hardip added. “Put your phone away, guys, for eight hours of the day. Let’s play cricket, the game we love. We play to win, but win fairly. We have good derbies with Warwick and Leamington…it’s a strong county.”