KG sports officials hurt media, Omar CC win opener

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The unprofessional attitude of the sports department of Karachi Gymkhana created problems in disseminating details of the 31st Karachi Gymkhana Ramazan Festival Twenty20 Cricket Tournament 2016, being played for the Omar Associates Trophy, which got underway on June 7. 

It had been the practice for the last many years to make the details available to the media, through electronic or digital means, as soon as the game was over much before Iftar time.

But that wasn�t the case this time round and it took the organizers nearly a couple of hours to transmit scorecard of the opening match. It was also surprising to find that neither the umpires nor the official scorer, who did the duties, had a copy of the match scoreboard. 

In the interim period, efforts were made to contact the Sports Manager of the Karachi Gymkhana but he remained inaccessible with his cell phone being continuously powered off just as it was on the evening when the draws of the tournament were taken out, resulting in inconvenience to the covering journalists. 

One of the reasons of the inaccessibility of the sports department officials was stated to be the location of their office which is housed in the basement of the club. It�s a food of thought for the club management to look into and find a solution. 

Meanwhile left-arm spinner Fawad Khan and wicketkeeper-opener Usman Khan powered Omar Cricket Club to a crucial six-wicket victory over Medicam XI in the opening match of the Omar Associates Trophy at the Karachi Gymkhana Cricket Ground on the opening day. 

Medicam XI, whose skipper Khalid Latif opted to bat after calling correctly, was bowled out for 156 on the final ball of their innings. Looking set for an imposing total after the cameo from Tasawwar Abbas (44 off 19 balls), they lost their last six wickets for only 27 runs with Fawad Khan (3-17) doing the damage. 

The 69-run opening partnership in eight overs between Usman Khan (48 off 35 balls) and Noman Anwar (31 off 24 balls) put Omar CC in a commanding position and the momentum was sustained by Mohammad Waqas and Akbar-ur-Rahman who scored 24 each. 

The clinical batting performance kept Omar CC ahead of the clock and they duly reached the target in the final over with six wickets in hand. Fawad Khan was adjudged Man of the Match for this three-wicket haul.

Nadeem Omar inaugurates KG Festival, stresses on fair play

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Nadeem Omar, the Managing Director of Omar Associates and the owner of Quetta Gladiators, has stressed on fair play and positive attitude as he formally inaugurated the 31st edition of the Karachi Gymkhana Ramazan Festival Cricket Tournament 2016 for the Omar Associates Trophy on June 4.

With Test wicketkeeper-batsman Saleem Yousuf standing behind him, he dead-batted a friendly half-volley in the corporate settings of the banquet hall which, on a cricket ground, he would have deposited it somewhere into the stands! 

In his brief remarks on the occasion, Nadeem Omar, whose company is sponsoring the event for the fifth year running, hoped that other corporations and institutions will also come forward for patronizing sports. 

�Sadly the federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year (2016-17), presented just the other day, doesn�t have adequate allocation for sports. Now the onus is on the private sector to promote sports in the right manner,� he reckoned. 

�The Karachi Gymkhana Ramazan Festival is the oldest tournament in which the talented cricketers from all over the country get an opportunity to showcase their talents. We are happy to be associated with it,� he added. 

Omar Associates (Pvt) Ltd, the promoters of Omar Cricket Club and Omar Colts, have also been managing veterans and women�s teams besides having its regular team which plays national-level tournaments.

Meanwhile the prize money of the Omar Associates Trophy 2016, due to start at the Karachi Gymkhana Cricket Ground on the first day of Ramazan, has been enhanced. 

The decision in this regard was taken by the President of the Karachi Gymkhana, Fawad Salim Malik, during the media briefing as he announced that the winners will now be getting Rs seven lacs instead of Rupees six lacs and the runners-up will be collecting Rs three lacs fifty thousand instead of Rupees three lacs. 

The total prize money of the four-week event, whose final will be played on 28th of Ramazan, will be Rupees 13 lacs and eighty thousand, which is the highest in the 30-year-old history of the tournament. 

In his welcome address, Fawad Malik described the Karachi Gymkhana as the premier sports and social club east of the Suez Canal, which took pride in its legacy and heritage. He made a particular mention of its cricket ground, having hosted a few of Pakistan�s famous matches. 

Altaf Hussain Agha, a former President of the Karachi Gymkhana and also the Director of the Tournament Committee, spoke about the plans to install floodlights at their cricket ground later this year. 

Riazuddin, an international umpire of repute and member of the technical committee, disclosed that all the T20 rules and regulations of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), including Duckworth-Lewis method for shortened matches, will be applied during the tournament. 

As in the past, tournament will be contested by a total of 16 teams, having been divided equally in four groups for the preliminary rounds. This includes five new teams, Anees Hussain Cricket Club, Dawood Sports, Sojhula Cricket Club (Dera Ghazi Khan), Atiq Estate and Shahmil Associates, who will be making their debut in the competition. 

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the knockout phase, starting with quarter-finals. For the preliminary rounds, Omar CC has been drawn in the Group A alongwith Medicam, Mohammad Hussain CC and K-Electric while the Group B comprises of Karachi Gymkhana Whites, Sojhula CC, Atiq Estate and Eaton CC. 

The Group C contains Omar Colts, Heroes CC, Shahmil Associates and Anis Hussain CC while the Group D will be featuring Karachi Gymkhana Blues, Dubai Islamic Bank, Dawood Sports and Tapal CC.