Bonding over sports through social media
Unable to meet now due to the pandemic, these young people created a Facebook page to talk about their passion
MUSCAT: A brother and sister duo in Oman have started a Facebook page aimed at spreading interest in cricket among people in the country.
Anita Saimon, who founded CricAir, along with her brother Abishek, and their friend, Ritu Khemka, who lives in India, created the page to stimulate discussion in the sport, with physical meetings now significantly reduced because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve always grown up with sports in our home, whether it was playing sports, watching sports or discussing it, so everyone in my family has always had a fondness for sport,” said Anita. “We are unable to meet now, so it felt like a very good idea to set up a page where everyone could come together and share their opinions on cricket.
Breaking down barriers
“Sport has this capability of breaking down barriers and helping you form friendships and look past what you see on the surface, and leads to greater understanding among people,” she added. With the Indian Premier League – a Twenty20 tournament that features some of the best players around the world – Anita feels now is the right time to launch the page.Found on CricAir are graphics tailored to each game, providing visitors to the page with valuable pieces of data that contain in-depth information about the players involved in them, with the aim of expanding people’s understanding, knowledge and interest of the game.
For example, before every IPL game that takes place, graphics concerning the playing conditions and team lineups are put up, as is more detailed information about the key players in the two sides playing each other. Prior to the match between the Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, a graphic showing the head-tohead contributions of Quinton de
Kock and Kagiso Rabada – important players for their teams, was put up. The information for these posts come from Abishek Saimon, who like Anita, went to school in Oman, before going to the US to study sports statistics. He now plans on travelling to the UK to do his masters.
Number cruncher
“I have loved sport in any form, and when I was growing up, my parents say I was more fond of numbers than I was of alphabets,” he said. “They say I learned to count and add before I learned to read and spell. It is the combination of these two passions of mine that have led to me wanting to study sports data.