FORMER Worcestershire slow left-armer Shaaiq Choudhry is one of the winners of this year’s Professional Cricketers’ Association personal development scholarships.

The scholarships were introduced by the PCA in 2013 to find and reward the most proactive members, past and present, on or off the pitch, in the area of personal development.

Choudhry and former England fast bowler Amjad Khan were the winners in the past player progression personal development category with Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale and Northamptonshire all rounder Steven Crook winning in the current players' category, and Warwickshire pair Richard Jones and Jonathon Webb taking the prizes in the newcomers category.

All six will receive £1,000 towards personal development course funding, resources of their choice or to reimburse costs already incurred.

Choudhry, who began his county career with Warwickshire, had started planning for life after cricket before he was released by Worcestershire at the end of last season.

He has now set up business with a friend in Rotherham producing the Brothers Circle fashion range which has been well-supported by Choudhry’s former Worcestershire team mates and stars of a number of television reality programmes.

“Without personal development I would not be where I am today. All the skills I have built up while playing cricket have come into use now,” Choudhry said.

“That’s thanks to the PCA and Lynsey Williams. I have worked outside of cricket and it’s something that a lot of cricketers should do because it makes the transition from cricket into working so much easier. Without that experience I would be lost.”

Choudhry gained valuable work experience with Worcester-based We are Beard last winter and so enjoyed the experience that he is now studying for.

“I spent a winter with We are Beard. The lads there are great and I really enjoyed myself. I worked nine to five and the days would fly by. I would then go and do an hour’s gym session and it felt like a 10 hour shift,” he said.

“My first degree was IT and business so the business aspect has come in handy but the IT part of it was a stepping stone into graphics so it has all played a part.”

All the shortlisted candidates for the Scholarship Awards had to make s short presentation before they were interviewed by the judging panel.

“I’ve not dome a presentation for eight to ten years so it was a bit nerve wracking at first but I felt it went all right,” he said.

“I looked forward to it. I was excited in a nervous kind of way. You are out of your comfort zone but you are doing something different which I enjoy.”