Tournament with dual objective
THE inaugural Ramadan Peace Cup, currently being held at the Kinrara Oval, serves as both a key competition in promoting international peace as well as providing Malaysian players valuable experience.
Sri Lanka player Sampath Perera believes the tournament's standard will rise with every edition.
Malaysia Cricket Association (MCA), the organisers of the event, have confirmed that it will be held annually.
“This is my first time in Malaysia and I see good players in every team here. I think the standard will continue to improve as the tournament goes on each year,” said Sampath.
“It is also a good opportunity for the Malaysian players to gain experience as I understand they have World Cup qualifiers coming up soon.
“They can gain good experience as there are some top quality players competing here from Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan.”
He is competing here with the Southern Hitters who kept their chances of qualifying for the Ramadhan Peace Cup final alive with a 23-run win over Western Warriors on Tuesday.
MCA president Mahinda Vallipuram stressed that the competition is a positive way to show unity in the sport.
"We don't want to be involved in the politics of it all but we do recognise the tragedies which happened in Sri Lanka and also New Zealand recently," said Mahinda.
"They were huge tragedies with human loss and it is hard to comprehend why (it happened).
"As one of the main sports played in these countries, it (the Ramadan Peace Cup) is one way for us, as cricketers, to bring a message and also that we stand united and live peacefully here in Malaysia."
The tournament ends on May 31.