SPL to introduce regional cricket talent to global stage: Tessori

LONDON: Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori has said that the Sindh Premier League (SPL) is set to highlight the talent and culture of the province by introducing the youth from the regions to the global stage as the league is aimed at bringing Sindh into focus in a unique style.

Tessori was speaking in London at the Roadshow of SPL attended by a large number of British-Pakistani community members.

The Sindh governor was accompanied by a delegation of SPL management and franchise owners of the league including Chairman Aslam Malik, CEO Chaudhry Shahzad Akhtar and President Arif Malik.

Owners of the team including Benazirabad’s Ghulam Hussain Shahid, Hyderabad Bahadurs’s Jahanzeb Alam, Karachi Gladiators’ Irfan Wahid, Larkana Challengers’ Aamir Siddiqui and other representatives of Sukkur Patriots and Khairpur Royals also attended the event.

Lord Qurban Hussain and Lord Wajid Khan also attended and spoke at the event.

Tessori said that the SPL will be a world-class cricket league to be held in the middle of December this year in the city of Karachi, Sindh. He said that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will inaugurate the league matches and caretaker premier Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar will attend the closing ceremony.

“The purpose of Sindh Premier League is to introduce the young cricketers of Sindh to the world level and to provide them with opportunities to play with local and foreign players and also to train them from international cricket academies. I am thankful to the London business community and other dignitaries from other walks of life who participated in the event and expressed their interest in the game of cricket and the underprivileged people of Sindh,” Tessori said.

The Sindh governor appealed to the overseas Pakistanis to shun those elements who don’t want the progress of Pakistan and are involved in campaigning against Pakistan’s institutions. He thanked the overseas community for investing in Pakistan and appealed for more investment.

“No matter whatever passport you have, Pakistan will always be your home and home to your coming generations,” he said.

Chairman SPL Aslam Malik said that the London event was the first international appearance for SPL.

“We will bring forward the Pakistani talent in general and the young talent of Sindh in particular through SPL all over the world,” said Malik.

CEO SPL Chaudhry Shahzad Akhtar expressed determination that Pakistan will continue to make cricket a medium of global connections and cooperation and SPL will play a pivotal role in this effort.

President SPL Arif Malik told the participants that the Sindh Premier League is a league of the quality of any international cricket league in which not only national cricket stars of Pakistan but also international players are participating and its matches will be telecasted worldwide. He said that esteemed names like Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq and other leading players have agreed to be the ambassadors of the SPL.

He explained that the Sindh Premier League is a T20 cricket league whose matches will be played from December 14-25, 2023, at the National Bank Cricket Arena, also known as the National Cricket Stadium.

In the first season of SPL, Benazirabad Reds, Hyderabad Bahadurs, Karachi Gladiators, Sukkur Patriots, Khairpur Royals and Larkana Challengers representing six different cities of Sindh will contest against each other for the title.