Cricket festival on May 19

Manama: Bahrain will host its first cricket festival in association with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Bahrain Cricket Academy on May 19.

The international line-up for the event are: Misbah Ul Haq, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Imran Nazir, Sohail Tanveer, Rana Naveed, Irfan Pathan, Tilkartane Dilshan, Mohammed Ashraful, Marlon Samuels, Mohammed Sharif, S. Sreenath and other IPL players that are to be further revealed, according to Mustaba Nazir, one of the organisers. 

Entitled ‘Bahrain Cricket Festival 2017’, the match 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.

“We want to promote the local players through this fest. We don’t have a proper academy or proper grounds now. So, 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, another organiser 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.

“Skydiving, ladies softball match, 6A-Side match (a match between the local players), and a T20 match with international players will also be organised as part of the festival,” said Mustaba Nazir.