Dubai: Pakistan Consul General in Dubai Hassan Afzal Khan unveiled the playing kits for the Chinar Super League teams at a ceremony in Ajman on Sunday.
Captains and owners of the 24 teams participating in the Chinar Super League (CSL) Season IV — deemed as the UAE’s largest tape ball cricket championship — received their colourful jerseys from Consul General Khan and the main sponsors of the CSL. A large number of business community members, cricket enthusiasts and journalists attended the ceremony organised by the Leading Sports at Bahi Ajman Palace Hotel.
Speaking on the occasion, Consul General Khan congratulated Leading Sports, a Dubai-based sports services company for organising such a big community cricket event and involve them in healthy activities. “Chinar Super League which has entered into the fourth season has become a brand in the UAE for overseas cricketers living in the UAE,” he noted.
The event, he added, would not only provide an opportunity to hunt talented cricketers but also be a platform for businessmen to interact with one another and further grow their businesses in the UAE. He said that he was very pleased to see so many businesses and corporate groups supporting this community cricket event which started in 2019 and now has developed into a mega cricketing event in the UAE. “The consulate also fully support this event and wish the organisers a great success,” he reiterated.
The event was attended by leading sponsors and supporters of Chinar Super League. Prominent among them included: Raja Mohammed Khan, Chairman of RMK Industries; Sardar Sajid Abbasi, Managing Director Fly Hawks Real Estate; Nawaz Khan Jadoon, Chairman Gawah Holding Group; Iftikhar Hamdani, Area General Manager Bahi Ajman Palace Hotel, Mohammed Javed Chaudhry, General Manager Serene Air; Khurram Shahzad from Almarai and Hassan Latif, General Manager of Vital Zone Healthcare.
Kits have been sponsored by Combaxx Sports, a Pakistan-based online store for sporting goods while Prime Health will ensure the health of participating players and Almarai will take care of the nutritional needs of players during the tournaments while the branding is being done by Champion Neon. The event provided a suitable platform for sponsors to promote their businesses. Raja Dawood Sherif, former president of Chinar Wing, introduced the sponsors and their businesses.
Raja Amjad, President of Chinar Wing said that the CSL started as a small community sporting event but it has grown into a major cricket brand in the UAE and beyond. “The CSL is well known around the world among cricket lovers especially Pakistanis. The fourth season is being held professionally by the Leading Sports management which is taking all the necessary measures to make it a successful and entertaining cricketing event for the community. We are always here to support the CSL,” he added.
Pakistan Consul General Khan was also awarded a shield by famous UAE based Pakistani Taekwondo players Ammar Ahmed and Sinan Ahmed for his support to the community sport activities such as the CSL.
Raja Asad Khalid, Chairman of Chinar Super League and Director Leading Sports thanked the sponsors for supporting the community cricket event and making it a success.
Giving details about the event, he said that the CSL will feature 24 teams comprising of expat players from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
The league matches will be played on February 19, 20 and 26 at the Bataya cricket ground in Sharjah, while the semi-finals and final matches will be held on February 27 at Oval Cricket ground in Ajman. League matches will be played in four pools of six teams each and the top team from each group will compete in the semi-finals.
He added that the winning team will get a Dh7,000 cash prize and the runner-up team will be given Dh3,500 in addition to medals. “The Chinar Super League is the largest tape ball championship being held in the UAE. Our aim is to bring together community members from across the country for this healthy activity in line with the UAE’s vision to promote health and fitness.”
The CSL, he said, not only promotes cricket in the country but also provides talent hunt opportunities. “Some of the players who played in the earlier CSL event are now also playing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and we hope more players from CSL would make it to international cricket,” he added.
