Officials of Leading Sport pose during the press conference.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

A total of 24 teams comprising of different expat community groups will participate in Chinar Super League, a popular community cricket event in the UAE.

The fourth season of the CSL being organized the Dubai-based sports services company the Leading Sport, will be played in Sharjah and Ajman.

The teams comprised of expat players from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The league matches will be played on Feb.19, 20 and 26 at the Bataya cricket ground in Sharjah, while the semi-finals and final matches will be held on Feb.27 at Oval Cricket ground in Ajman, announced Sports Director of Leading Sports, Raja Asad Khalid, at a press conference in Dubai.

Khalid said that league matches would be played in four pools of six teams each and the top team from each group will compete in the semi-finals. He said that all matches would be played following COVID-19 guidelines set by UAE authorities.

He added that the winner and the runner-up teams would be given cash prizes in addition to trophies and medals.

"The Chinar Super League is the largest tape ball championship being held in the UAE. Our aim is bring together community members from across the country for this healthy activity in line with the UAE’s vision to promote health and fitness.”

The CSL, he said, not only promotes cricket in the country but also provides talent hunt opportunities. "Some of the players who played in the earlier CSL event are now also playing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL),” he added.

The event, Khalid said, is widely supported by the expat business community members in the UAE.

"We are thankful to our sponsors who joined hands with us to make this event successful.”

Major sponsors who made this community cricket cup possible include RMK Industries, Fly Hawks Real Estate, Gawah Holding Group, Bahi Ajman Palace Hotel, Combaxx Sports and Prime Healthcare.

Speaking at the press conference, Raja Mohammed Khan, chairman of RMK Industries, said he has been supporting the Chinar Super League from the very first edition, as he believes that this event provides a good opportunity to community members to interact with one another.

"As a businessman in the UAE for more than four decades, I feel that it is our duty to support the community to have such healthy activities. I congratulate Leading Sport for taking this initiative to organise such community cricket events,” he added.

Sardar Sajid Abbasi, Managing Director of Fly Hawk Real Estate, said he felt privileged to be part of the CSL.

"I have seen CSL grow bigger during the last three season and this year Leading Sport has taken a thorough professional approach to make it the most popular tape ball cricket event in the UAE,” he added.

Abbasi said that this event "spreads love” through cricket as thousands of expats turn up to watch matches involving expat players who work in the UAE.

Nawaz Khan Jadoon, Chairman of Gawah Holding company and President of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the UAE, said he is pleased to support the CSL because it is not just a cricket tournament but an event for the expat community to get together and promote healthy activities. "We will continue to play our role to make such healthy community events a big success. I hope next year Leading Sports organise this event at GCC level,” he added.

Zubair Macha, General Manager of Combaxx Sport, said though his company is based in Pakistan, he decided to be part of the CSL because it is a popular community event in the UAE. "Our company regularly supports various sport events in Pakistan but we are very pleased to be part the CSL in the UAE,” he noted.

Iftikhar Hamdani, Area Manager of Bahi Ajman Palace Hotel, said events like the CSL are a harbinger of healthy society. "We decided to be part of the CSL because we believe in supporting the community events aimed at promoting health and fitness in the society. Our cricket team is also part of this championship,” he added.

Fahad Shahid from Prime Healthcare said CSL would provide a good opportunity to various expat community groups to be part of this competitive and entertaining cricket championship. "We as a healthcare group always strive to support such healthy activities. I congratulate the organisers for holding the CSL which has become brand name in the UAE and abroad,” he added.