Muscat: The Embassy of Sri Lanka in the Sultanate of Oman will organise a series of events to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Sri Lankan Independence Day. The celebration started with the flag hoisting ceremony on the embassy premises on 4 February and will continue till January 2024.
To announce the chain of events to mark the Sri Lankan National Day, a press conference was organised by the embassy on Saturday in Muscat in which A.L. Sabarullah Khan, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Sultanate of Oman, gave the details.
He said that Sri Lankan Independence Day Cricket Tournament will be organised as part of the year-long special commemorative events to mark the 75th Anniversary of Independence of Sri Lanka. The cricket tournament will take place at the Oman Cricket (OC) grounds – Al Amerat on Friday 28 April, 2023 from 7.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. “In Sri Lanka most of the cricket players graduate from schools just like country cricket and many expats living here have been excellent players in the past. It will be an opportunity for them to showcase their cricketing skills here and win exciting prizes,” the Sri Lankan Ambassador added.
The cricket tournament is being organised by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in coordination with the Sri Lankan expatriate community in the Sultanate of Oman to recall the fond memories of expatriates’ school life in Sri Lanka as well as to bring the competitive and electrifying atmosphere to Oman.
Sri Lanka is well known for cricket and has produced several outstanding cricketers. Former national cricket player and test captain of Sri Lanka, Duleep Mendis, is the current head coach of the national cricket team of the Sultanate of Oman, and also the Chief Development Officer of Oman Cricket.
The Embassy is grateful to Pankaj Khimji, Chairman of OC and Duleep Mendis for making available the prestigious and wonderful Oman Cricket grounds for the event. The BPOS Global LLC in the Sultanate of Oman will be the event manager for this tournament. The BPOS is headed by a Sri Lankan legend Anselm Perera, residing in Oman for nearly 48 years.
The organising committee of the cricket tournament has introduced several sponsorship packages including, event partners as well as Gold, Silver, Associate, Media, Medical, Beverages and Food partners for their support to make this event successful.
There will be 12 teams participating in the tournament. Each team will represent a school in Sri Lanka or a group of schools. Each team will nominate 13 players out of which 11 players will play. The initial round matches will be of six over while the semi-finals and final will be of eight over.
The upper age limit for the players is 40 years. For the families and kids, there will be special fun competitions throughout the day to enjoy the matches.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka welcomes all Sri Lankans and cricket fans in Oman to enjoy this memorable cricket tournament on April, 2023 at the Oman Cricket (OC) grounds in Al Amerat.
Source: Times of Oman