DAD’s Cricket Tournament – Dads are back to ground
'My Dad, My Superstar' - Dad’s Cricket Tournament is expected to bring a new experience to Sri Lanka as the one-of-a-kind competition is to be held in NCC, Bloomfield, BRC and Colts grounds in September. Former national level cricketers, will participate in this Twenty20 tournament.
This tournament is only for 'Dads' under the theme of ‘Love for Dads’. They will repre- sent their school teams. In the first round,16 teams will play in four groups. One team will play three matches and the top two teams in four groups will enter the semi-finals. The final will be played under lights.
Veteran fast bowler Ravindra Pushpakumara, a member of 1996 World Cup winning team stated; "Dads are sacrificing a lot to bring forward the game and cricketers. So we thought to do something for them, for those who love cricket. Most of national team cricketers are dads now. There are many cricketers who have played cricket at domestic level and their school teams who won’t have an opportunity to play again. We planned a Dads Cricket Tournament considering these facts. This is the very first cricket tournament for dads in Sri Lanka. We expect to initiate a programme to develop school cricket through this tournament".
Many legendary cricketers including Arjuna Ranatunga, Chaminda Vaas, Pramodya Wickremasinghe, Upul Chandana, Lanka de Silva and Avishka Gunawardena will participate in this tournament.
"This will be a new experience to all cricket fans," Pushpakumara added.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between the participating cricketers and organisers at an event held in Colombo this week. Part of the earnings from this tournament will be distributed to develop school cricket in the rural areas. Sportonix is the organising arm of this tournament.