Jerseys have been handed over to the national Under-16 cricket team competing in the ACC Men’s East Zone Cup.
The team, preparing for the tournament to be held in Selangor, Malaysia from June 20 to July 6, received their jerseys in a special ceremony held at the SHE Building.
The Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Abdullah Rafiu, presided over the ceremony and handed over the jerseys to the players. In addition to Minister Rafiu, the President of the Cricket Board of Maldives, Mohamed Faisal, and the Vice President, Ahmed Ishaq, also participated in the ceremony. Parents of the Under-16 national cricket team athletes and officials were also present.
The Minister, who graced the ceremony, encouraged the team. He stated that although these are young players, they are continuously participating in cricket training sessions. Therefore, the Minister noted that this is a very special team. He also highlighted the work being done by CBM to take cricket to the next level.
“The Cricket Board is working tirelessly to take Maldivian cricket to the next level,” the Minister said.
Nine other teams, teams, including the Maldives, will compete in this tournament. The Cricket Board has informed that the participating countries are junior-level nations newly introduced to cricket.
The team representing the Maldives in this tournament is very young in terms of age. Having started preparations for the tournament about six months ago, the team’s coach, Faiz, has said that cricket will progress by providing opportunities to the junior national cricket team, and he believes that the experience these children will gain by competing with different countries at an international level will be an important experience for the development of cricket.
The Under-16 national cricket team competing in the ACC Men’s East Zone Cup is scheduled to depart on Monday evening.
Nepal won the championship of the last ACC Men’s Under-16 East Zone Cup after defeating Malaysia. Nepal’s team also lifted the trophy for the 2019 tournament.
