Cricket Legends will dawn!
A mega sporting event, that aims to put Bahrain on the map as one of the best places to host cricket tournaments, will be unveiling on Friday. The island is all set to host its first cricket festival ‘Bahrain Cricket Festival 2017’ in association with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Bahrain Cricket Academy.
The event has managed to garner great attention and excitement among residents, for its international line-up of cricket legends which include, Misbah Ul Haq, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Imran Nazir, Sohail Tanveer, Rana Naveed, Irfan Pathan, Mohammed Ashraful, Mohammed Sharif, S. Sreenath, among other IPL players. Former Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan and Marlon Samuels of the West Indies are the other stars expected to take part in the festival match
“We want to promote the local players through this festival. We don’t have a proper academy or proper grounds now hence we are trying to raise awareness about this sport and show the people how beneficial this sport can be in promoting the country,” Arif Sadiq, one of the organisers of the festival said. “Cricket boards are one of the richest sports bodies and we believe bringing a sport like this will be very beneficial for this country. Our next idea is to establish three new cricket grounds in Bahrain by the end of November and host a cricket match that would see international cricket players,” he added. “We are trying to create a new cricket culture in Bahrain and to make it a destination for all international cricket matches which would not only develop the sports sector in the Kingdom but also strengthen the tourism sector,” said Khan Tanoli, Investment Counselor for the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office and one of the organisers of the
event.
Family Entertainment for all
The event will be a full- rounded event that will consist of entertainment throughout the day, which includes the police marching band, the free-fall parachute display, besides which there will be a fun zone activity, live performances, street magic and much more. There will also be a ladies softball match, 6A-Side match (a match between the local players).
The event will be held at the Bahrain National Stadium under the patronage of Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports. Tickets are available for sale and come in the categories of BD3 (Unshaded Area), BD5 (Shaded Area) and BD50 (First Class with Snacks).These are available at Geant, Lulu, Gulf Mart and MegaMart. The VIP & VVIP Tickets are priced at BD150 and BD200. For more information, call 36678678/66609701.
