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Many of us will know about this tiny Arabian Gulf state for its natural pearls and financial industry but not many would readily associate it with the game of cricket.
So it would have come to many as a surprise to hear that on 19th May, some of Pakistan’s top stars will be appearing in a festival game, featuring teams lead by the retired Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq and the Indian fast-bowler Irfan Pathan.
The scene of this clash will at the Bahrain National Stadium where a new pitch has been made by shaving the grass. Of course, removing grass off the field in the nation’s top stadium would be unheard of in a football mad country like Bahrain. But with cricket being the most popular game on the island with hundreds playing the game every weekend, the Ministry of Sports decided that a high-profile cricket game was the best way to highlight the Gulf Sports Expo 2017 exhibition being held in Bahrain.
As Mujtaba Ahmed Nazir the main representative of Bahrain Cricket Academy who are co-organizers of this event explained to PakPassion.net, “It was a tough assignment handed to us to gather some of the world’s top players to come over to Bahrain and play a game at a short notice. But, I am glad to say that once we spoke about the popularity of the game with stars like Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Irfan Pathan and Marlon Samuels, none had any second thoughts about flying over to play this game”
Mr. Aref Sadiq, senior member of the organizing committee also shed light on the reasons for holding Bahrain’s first major game of cricket, stating that “We were give n 45-day window to organize this game and with God’s help we will achieve this with great success.”
The upcoming event is expected to be a sell-out but the organizers are looking beyond this weekend to a more longer term future for cricket events in the country as Aref Sadiq explained, “The main aim of this game is to bring awareness to the people of Bahrain and to show the world that this country has the ability and support for such events. We feel that if the UAE can be known for international cricket games, Bahrain can also make its mark by holding such games and present a viable alternative to teams like Pakistan to make it their home in the future”, he concluded.
So it would have come to many as a surprise to hear that on 19th May, some of Pakistan’s top stars will be appearing in a festival game, featuring teams lead by the retired Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq and the Indian fast-bowler Irfan Pathan.
The scene of this clash will at the Bahrain National Stadium where a new pitch has been made by shaving the grass. Of course, removing grass off the field in the nation’s top stadium would be unheard of in a football mad country like Bahrain. But with cricket being the most popular game on the island with hundreds playing the game every weekend, the Ministry of Sports decided that a high-profile cricket game was the best way to highlight the Gulf Sports Expo 2017 exhibition being held in Bahrain.
As Mujtaba Ahmed Nazir the main representative of Bahrain Cricket Academy who are co-organizers of this event explained to PakPassion.net, “It was a tough assignment handed to us to gather some of the world’s top players to come over to Bahrain and play a game at a short notice. But, I am glad to say that once we spoke about the popularity of the game with stars like Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Irfan Pathan and Marlon Samuels, none had any second thoughts about flying over to play this game”
Mr. Aref Sadiq, senior member of the organizing committee also shed light on the reasons for holding Bahrain’s first major game of cricket, stating that “We were give n 45-day window to organize this game and with God’s help we will achieve this with great success.”
The upcoming event is expected to be a sell-out but the organizers are looking beyond this weekend to a more longer term future for cricket events in the country as Aref Sadiq explained, “The main aim of this game is to bring awareness to the people of Bahrain and to show the world that this country has the ability and support for such events. We feel that if the UAE can be known for international cricket games, Bahrain can also make its mark by holding such games and present a viable alternative to teams like Pakistan to make it their home in the future”, he concluded.
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