Tribune News network
DOHA
Ibn Ajayan Projects (IAP) and Pro Event will present cricket stars of Asia to celebrate the Qatar National Day at the Asian Town Cricket Stadium.
Under the banner of the QND 2017 Organising Committee of Associated Activities and supervision of the Ministry of Interior, IAP and Pro Event will hold Twenty20 cricket matches on December 15, 17 and 18.
Sponsored by How Automobiles, many international players from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh would form teams with the Qatari cricketers and play matches to contribute to the pride, spirit and fervour of the Qatar National Day festivities.
The guest players include Wahab Riaz, Fawad Alam, Misbah-ul-Haq, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Kamran Akmal, Salman Butt, Sami Aslam, Imam-ul-Haq (all from Pakistan), Waseem Jafar, L. Balaji, S. Badrinath (all from India), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dilhara Fernando, Ferveez Maharoof, Jeevan Mendis (all from Sri Lanka), Tamim Iqbal, Elias Sunny, Arafat Sunny and Anamul Haque (all from Bangladesh).
At a press conference in Doha on Monday, Sajjad Mohammed Hussain Chaudhary, CEO, Pro Event, said,"At Pro Event, we have been organising cricket tournaments for the last three years. This year the Qatar National Day Celebration Tournament is very special for us as we see it as an opportunity to showcase our love and respect for this country. We are bringing cricketers from around the world for this big occasion and we are very proud to be part of the QND celebration.
"We can see the growth of cricket in Qatar and hopefully, the people of Qatar would love to enjoy the matches this year at the Asian Town Cricket Stadium. There are attractive gifts and prizes for fans as well," Chaudhary added.
Talking about the local players, he said Chaudhary Iqbal (captain), Kamran Khan, Tamoor Sajjad (vice-captain), Rizlan Iqbal (WK), Zaheer Ibrahim, Inam ul Haq, Nadeem Aslam, Imran Asharaf, Faisal Khan, Mohd Tanveer, Nouman Sarwar, Salim Ali, Aqib Javed, Awais Malik, Khurram Shehzad, Ushantha Madushanka, Ikramullah Khan and Mohd Murad would represent Qatar Stars team.
Also present on the occasion were Lt. Muhammad Ali al Muraizeeq, Public Relation Officer at the Ministry of Interior, Faisal al Hudawi, Community Reach Out Coordinator at MoI, Salem al Fuhaid from Ibn Ajayan Projects and Manzoor Ahmed, QCA Operations Manager).
On behalf of the Ministry of Interior, Muraizeeq said,"The Ministry of Interior is delighted that cricket players are contributing to the National Day Celebration in big way. We are always ready to provide our best for the event which add to the pride and honour of the country. The sport is becoming quite popular among the Qatari expatriate communities and we wish good luck to the organisers."
Manzoor Ahmad also praised the efforts of the IAP and Pro Event and said,"We know it very well that it is not easy to get so many international players and host such events. A lot of efforts has been made to make this event a possibility. We are really happy that cricket is growing fast in Qatar and we're getting better at the international level each year. The QCA would like to congratulate the organisers for this upcoming event."
Tickets are available at Indian Super Market, Filli Caf`, Today's Fashion and Asian Town Cricket Stadium (Gate number 1).