President-elect Nadeem Omar set to take KCCA to higher level

The President-elect of the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA), Nadeem Omar, has already set the ball rolling by getting in touch with the concerned quarters for implementing his plans aimed at reviving the game in a big way.

He has been elected unopposed as the KCCA President as he enjoyed overwhelming electoral support prompting his predecessor and challenger Prof Ejaz Ahmed Farooqui to withdraw his candidature the other day.

The notification in this regard from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is being awaited and it may be delayed until polling for the slot of the KCCA Secretary is held in a few weeks.

Nadeem Omar, a veteran sports promoter and a cricket administrator, having founded and managed successful cricket teams like Omar Associates, Omar Cricket Club and Capricorn Discount Cards, besides Quetta Gladiators, has begun his journey of transforming the KCCA into a bigger entity than it was ever before.

The KCCA President-elect shared some of the exciting plans he has worked out to revolutionize the KCCA. He has already started making moves towards his strategic plan, covering nearly aspect of the game.

The development of a new structure of cricket for Karachi features prominently on his agenda as he plans to have the KCCA managed as professionally as any other modern cricket association anywhere in the world.

“First and foremost I have set the goal of reviving the KCCA Stadium in North Nazimabad. I plan to install floodlights at the ground besides improving the condition of the stadium. This would be the home of Karachi cricket,” he declared.

“Secondly I have already spoken to the PCB to let the KCCA gets its share of space at the National Stadium where I intend to build a library and museum of Karachi cricket apart from setting up the High Performance Centre with the KCCA Academy. There are vacant spaces within the compound of the National Stadium and the KCCA is interested in using it,” Nadeem Omar disclosed.

He has the plans for revitalizing the club cricket, with the help of its seven zones, on a war footing. He’s equally eager to launch proper cricket tournaments for schools, colleges and universities with the collaboration of the local education departments in order to engage a larger pool of students.

“I would be interested in exposing the youngsters to matches of longer duration from an early age so that they face no problems when graduating to first-class cricket. We will have annual tournaments of three-day matches as well as T20 events,” he added.

His plans include the development of news complexes containing a full-fledged cricket grounds where first-class matches could be played besides reviving the historic grounds like the Karachi Parsi Institute (KPI) where the legendary Hanif Muhammad played that epic knock of 499.

Nadeem Omar emphasized on quickly developing and uploading a state-of-the-art website of the KCCA, to be updated on a daily basis, which would have details about coaches, umpires, scorers, clubs, departments, grounds, rules, women’s tournaments besides other features of general interest.

Engro teams up with Quetta Gladiators for PSL

Engro Foods, one of the largest conglomerates of Pakistan, have become the official sponsors of Quetta Gladiators for the PSL-3 and the agreement in this regard was signed between the company’s President, Ghias Khan, and Nadeem Omar, the franchise owner, in a ceremony on February 8.

The tastefully decorated office of Quetta Gladiators, owned by Nadeem Omar’s Omar Associates (Pvt) Ltd, was buzzing with activity on a pleasant Karachi afternoon and the auditorium, the venue of the signing ceremony, was packed to capacity to witness the event.

“We are starting this partnership with very high hopes of making it a big one as we share a lot of common goals. We need the support of corporations and sponsoring partners to grow and become self-sustaining entity. Together we can achieve our mutual objective of putting Pakistan on top of the tree in the cricket world,” Nadeem Omar observed.

The Engro President, an ardent supporter of the game, described the Pakistan Super League (PSL) as a great initiative, having facilitated the return of international cricket to Pakistan. He was thrilling at teaming up with Quetta Gladiators, the only team to have reached both the PSL finals.

There was more good news for Quetta Gladiators as unlike the last edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), their foreign cricketers have agreed to play their matches of the upcoming PSL-3 being staged in Karachi and Lahore.


“With the sole exception of Kevin Pietersen, all the foreign players of our squad have expressed their

willingness to play in Pakistan this time round. Even the flamboyant England batsman (Pietersen) may come and play in our cities,” Nadeem Omar, owner of Quetta Gladiators, revealed in his speech on the occasion.

Besides Pietersen, the foreign cricketers in the Quetta Gladiators squad, being led by the Pakistan captain, Sarfraz Ahmed, are Shane Watson (Australia), Mahmudullah (Bangladesh), Jason Roy (England), Rilee Rossouw (South Africa), Carlos Brathwaite (West Indies) and Rashid Khan (Afghanistan).

It may be recalled that Quetta Gladiators were deprived of the services of their prolific overseas cricketers, who opted not to travel to Lahore, as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chose to move the PSL-2 final away from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the course of the tournament.

Having finished runners-up in both the editions of the PSL, Quetta Gladiators appear determined to make it third time lucky as the PSL-3 gets underway with the usual fanfare later this month.

“We were considered underdogs on both occasions but we turned it around with passion and team spirit and proved many people wrong by cruising into the final. Sadly we couldn’t win the title in the past but I am quite confident that our team will perform better than before to bring him the trophy,” Head Coach Moin Khan, himself a former Pakistan captain, remarked.

“In cricket you cannot guarantee results but one thing is sure that we are going to fight until the end. That’s what we have been doing in the past and will keep doing it as we maintain very relaxed atmosphere in our dugout with the emphasis being on team spirit rather than anything else,” he added.

Moin Khan reckoned that the PCB should appoint Sarfraz Ahmed as the captain of the national team until team until the 2019 World Cup which will be helpful in bringing to an end speculations and uncertainties.

“Just as Quetta Gladiators have announced that Sarfraz Ahmed will continue leading our team as long as he’s fit, the PCB would be advised to go for a long-term appointment in the larger national interest,” the former Pakistan captain added.

19th PVCA National Seniors Cup being contested by 103 teams

A total of 103 outfits from 50 cities, having been divided in 31 groups, will be participating in the 19th edition of the National Seniors Cup Cricket Tournament 2017-18 being organized by the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA) and sponsored by Omar Associates (Pvt) Ltd while Naya Nazimabad will be the co-sponsors.

The details about the event, whose Southern Zone matches will be getting underway on February 10, were shared by Fawad Ijaz Khan, Chairman, PVCA, in a media briefing at the Karachi Gymkhana on February 6.

Nadeem Omar, Managing Director, Omar Associates, was also present on the occasion alongwith Akbar Iqbal Puri, President, Karachi Gymkhana, Abdul Haq, representing Naya Nazimabad, and the PVCA officials, Alamgir Ahmed, Amjad Islam Rishi, Shariq Hasib Khan and Mujahid Hamid.

Fawad Ijaz Khan noted that the level of fitness of the cricketers, having crossed the age of 40, has improved considerably over the years primarily due to the introduction of the National Seniors Cup.

Nadeem Omar reckoned that the senior cricketers were also making a significant contribution in the development of the sport, complimenting the PVCA to have withstood the challenges and delivered against the heaviest of odds.

Akbar Puri informed that besides installing floodlights at the Karachi Gymkhana Cricket Ground, the club was looking forward to having more proactive role in cricket in near future.

It was disclosed that 34 city teams from Punjab, 8 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 5 from Sindh, 2 from Islamabad one from Baluchistan will be taking part in the tournament whose national final, to be contested between the Champions of Northern and Southern Zones, will be taking place in Karachi on 22nd April. The total prize money in the event will be Rs 694,000.

Karachi Gold Bridge will be taking on Karachi Lucky Knitts in the inaugural match of the Southern Zone  at Naya Nazimabad Cricket Ground on February 10.

In the Southern Zone competition, Omar Associates, Fact Date Engineering, A A Pakwan, CAA and Quetta are placed in the Group A while the Group B comprises of RLCA, Gold Bridge, Airport Gymkhana, Haseen Habib and Lucky Knitts with Hyderabad, Badin, Jamshoro and Mirpurkhas being the drawn in the interior Sindh group.

The group matches of the Southern Zone, taking place at Karachi and Hyderabad, will be of 20 overs each innings whereas the Zonal finals as well as the National Final will be of 30 overs per innings. The group matches will be organized on single league basis.

The matches of the Northern Zone, having got underway last November, are being played at Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Multan, Okara, Lahore, Kasur, Sheikhupura, Muridke, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Sialkot while the matches of the Southern Zone will be played at Karachi and Hyderabad.

Amjad Islam Rishi will be the Tournament Coordinator while the Southern Zone Committee will be headed by Alamgir Ahmed.

The National Seniors Cup, contested annually between the selected teams of the various cities, has been organized by the PVCA every season since they its launch in 1998.

The PVCA has attained not only national but international recognition. It has played three series of limited overs matches against Indian Veterans featuring mega stars on both sides. It also organized a series of matches against touring Canadian Veterans Cricket team in February 2017 and they are again touring Pakistan later this month to play a series of matches in Karachi and Lahore.

Besides organizing Seniors/Veterans/Super Veterans Cricket, the PVCA is also promoting School Cricket as well having already organized eight successful editions of Inter-School Cricket Tournament in Karachi.

KG Ramazan Festival’s prizemoney enhanced

The prize money of the 32nd edition of the Karachi Gymkhana Ramazan Festival Twenty20 Cricket Tournament 2017 for the Omar Associates Trophy, due to start here at the Karachi Gymkhana Cricket Ground on the first day of Ramazan, has been enhanced substantially.

According to the details unveiled by the Tournament Director, Jam Nafees Ali, during the media briefing here at the Karachi Gymkhana on May 22, the categories for cash awards has been increased and the total prize money of the four-week event, whose final will be played on 28th of Ramazan, will be Rupees 14 lacs and 63 thousand, which is the highest in the 31-year-old history of the tournament.

The champions will be getting Rs seven lacs and the runners-up will be collecting Rs three lacs fifty thousand with the losing semifinalists will be receiving Rs 50,000 each. The new categories of awards being introduced are for the most boundaries, most catches and most wickets in every match which will be in addition to Man of the Match awards.

The tournament is being sponsored by Omar Associates (Pvt) Ltd, the promoters of Quetta Gladiators, Omar Cricket Club and Omar Colts, who have also been managing veterans and women’s teams besides having its regular team which plays national-level tournaments, for the fourth year running.

In his welcome address, the Karachi Gymkhana President, Fawad Salim Malik, described the club as the premier sports and social club of the country, having been established more than 125 years ago. To a question, he disclosed that the Gymkhana management was working the plans to install floodlights at their cricket ground later this year.

Speaking on the occasion, Nadeem Omar, Managing Director, Omar Associates, welcomed the participation of the co-sponsors in the tournament hoped that other corporations and institutions will also come forward for patronizing sports.

“The Karachi Gymkhana Ramazan Festival has remained a most sought after tournament in which many future greats were discovered. The promising cricketers from all over the country get an opportunity to showcase their talents and those performing well get headstart to their career,” he added.

Riazuddin, an international umpire 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 quite a new teams like Dubai Hawks XI, Acme Technologies, Mangus Sports, New Al Habib Cricket Club, Friends Cricket Club (Kandhkot) and Opera Cricket Club, 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 on the 21st day of Ramazan. Omar CC has been drawn in the Group A alongwith Dubail Hawks XI, Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and Advance Telecom while the Group B comprises of Karachi Gymkhana Whites, Dollar East, Mohammad Hussain Cricket Club and Acme Technologies.

The Group C contains Eaton CC, Magnus Sports, Sojhla Cricket Academy (Dera Ghazi Khan) and New Al Habib CC while the Group D will be Tapal CC, Heroes CC (Quetta), Friends CC (Kandhkot) and Opera CC.

Quetta Gladiators sign title sponsorship deal with Jubilee Life

Quetta Gladiators, a Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise, has signed title sponsorship deal with a leading private insurance firm for the second edition of the tournament starting in less than a couple of weeks time.

The signing ceremony between the two parties was witnessed by capacity crowd in the hall of Movenpick Hotel, Karachi, where it was held on January 30. The top management of the PSL franchise alongwith some of their players and coach Moin Khan, who is also a former Pakistan captain.

The Quetta Gladiators skipper, Sarfraz Ahmed, who is also the Pakistan T20 skipper and tipped to become the leader in all three formats in not too distant future, however, was unable to make it due to personal reasons.

Nadeem Omar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Omar Associates (Pvt) Ltd, which owns Quetta Gladiators, was particularly pleased at signing the title sponsorship deal with Jubilee Life Insurance.

“Jubilee Life is a dynamic young corporate entity which takes pride in long term relationships. Our successive meetings with them over the past few weeks to finalize the matters reflected their positive approach,” he noted.

“Our squad has a lot of young faces who make up for their inexperience with their aggression and high level of commitment. We may have entered the inaugural PSL as the underdogs but our boys excelled in the field to storm into the final. Now our aim will be to bring home the trophy,” Nadeem Omar remarked.

He paid glowing tributes to Moin Khan, the coach of Quetta Gladiators, for having put the acts together so nicely, also acknowledging the services of Azam Khan, the manager besides complimenting Sarfraz Ahmed for leading by example.

Javed Ahmed, Managing Director, Jubilee Life Insurance, lavished Quetta Gladiators for emerging as a popular brand right away with their brilliant craftsmanship.

“Your team has worked wonders in a short span of time and we appreciate your brilliance. We look forward to working with you for a long time to achieve our mutual objective of putting Pakistan cricket on top of the world,” he observed.

The ceremony was also attended by the President of the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA), Prof Ejaz Ahmed Farooqui, and the Chairman of the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA), Fawad Ijaz Khan.

Master stroke by Quetta Gladiators

Quetta Gladiators, a Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise, has signed a sponsorship deal with a leading lubricants firm for the upcoming second edition of the tournament.

The signing ceremony in this regard was held with great fanfare at Movenpick Hotel, Karachi, on December 3 in the presence of the top management of the PSL franchise as well as some of their players and coach Moin Khan, who is also a former Pakistan captain.

Nadeem Omar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Omar Associates (Pvt) Ltd, which owns Quetta Gladiators, expressed his delight at signing the sponsorship deal with Pakistan Lubricants, the manufacturers of Master Oil, for the PSL-2, to be held in February-March 2017.

“We have made history of sorts today. This is the first-ever sponsorship deal being signed by Quetta Gladiators. Obviously it’s new beginning for us. These are still the early days for the PSL. Ours as well as the other four franchises stand a great chance of getting more sponsorship support in future because the PSL is here to stay and make waves,” he reckoned.

He attributed the success of Quetta Gladiators, who finished runners-up in the inaugural edition of the PSL earlier this year, to the virtues of teamwork, making special mention of coach Moin Khan and manager Azam Khan.


“Some circles were not much impressed with the line-up we had chosen. But we had done it with

purpose and conviction. We had trusted the abilities of our team and they proved their mettle. Obstacles did come in our way during the journey but we were able to overcome them with our spirit and commitment,” Nadeem Omar declared.

He expressed great confidence in his emerging players, hoping that the likes of young gun Hassan Khan, a product of Inter-School cricket, will turn out to be the stars of future.

On a personal note, Nadeem Omar, whose company Omar Associates has been one of the most consistent supporters of sports in Pakistan over the years, observed that it felt quite differently to be sponsored for the first time.

“Yes indeed the feeling is quite different at the moment because we have been accustomed to sponsoring all along rather than being sponsored,” he added.

Later talking to the media, Moin Khan echoed similar sentiments and he too was looking forward to exciting performances from the franchise youngsters in the upcoming PSL.

Tabish Javed, Managing Director, Pakistan Lubricants, looked forward to a long-term relationship with Quetta Gladiators.

“For over five decades our brand Master Oil has exemplified trust and the PSL presents us the opportunity to reach out to our last base of customers and further promote the passion for cricket. It is the first step in what is intended to be a long journey,” he remarked.

The ceremony was also attended by the key officials of the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA), including its President, Prof Ejaz Ahmed Farooqui, and Secretary, Shafiq Kazmi.

PVCA board includes three Test cricketers

The Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA) has elected new board members and officials during its annual general body meeting held in Karachi and Lahore by video conferencing on November 14.

According to a notification issued by the PVCA, there were a total 16 directors, including three Test cricketers, Intikhab Alam, Ejaz Faquih and Kabir Khan, having been nominated by the four provinces and Islamabad.

Fawad Ijaz Khan, Nadeem Omar, Alamgir Ahmed, Amjad Islam Rishi, Salman Butt and Ejaz Faquih have been elected as the PVCA Directors from Sindh while Ashiq Hussain Qureshi, Intikhab Alam,Mujahid Hamid, Asad Ali Khan, Zahid Hussain and Rizwan Nisar are the elected Directors from the province of Punjab. Kabir Khan and Tariq Khan Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Shariq Hasib Khan (Balochistan) and Najeeb Sajid (Islamabad) are the other PVCA Directors elected from the respective territories.

Meanwhile Fawad Ijaz Khan and Ashiq Hussain Qureshi were unanimously re-elected as the new Chairman and Chief Executive of PVCA respectively for the three year term of 2016-19. Nadeem Sarwar was nominated as the Honorary Secretary and Rizwan Nisar was appointed as the Honorary Treasurer.

The PVCA, which came into being in 1998, has emerged as one of the most proactive sports bodies, having organized numerous events. They have attributed the success to their consistent policies and the democratic set-up which they have had since its inception.

Besides organizing cricket for the veterans, which remains its core objective, the PVCA has also played its role in promoting the game at the grassroots level, having organized eight editions of high-profile Inter-School cricket tournaments in Karachi, the last one of which concluded only a couple of days ago.

PVCA Inter-Schools Cricket Tournament for Omar Trophy starts on September 1

A total of 32 outfits will be participating in the PVCA Inter-Schools Cricket Tournament 2016 for the Omar Trophy, being organized by the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA) and sponsored by Omar Associates.

The details about the tournament, to be spread over two and half months during which a total 55 matches are scheduled to be held, were unveiled in a media briefing by Fawad Ijaz Khan, Chairman, PVCA, and Nadeem Omar, Managing Director, Omar Associates, at the Karachi Gymkhana on August 30. Aly Mustansir, Chief Marketing Officer, Bank Alfalah, one of the co-sponsors of the event, also shared his views on the occasion.

Salahuddin Ahmed, Sadiq Mohammad and Iqbal Qasim were the Test cricketers present in the gathering, along with former chief of the HBL Sports Division, Abdul Raquib, the President of the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA), Prof Ejaz Ahmed Farooqui, and the President of Karachi Gymkhana, Fawad Salim Malik. Besides the media corps, the representatives of the participating schools also attended the briefing.

It was announced that the tournament will be getting underway with a colourful opening ceremony at the Karachi Gymkhana Cricket Ground on September 1 and it will be followed by the opening match between Beaconhouse School and Ladybird School the same day.

Fawad Ijaz Khan, in his speech, highlighted the role of the PVCA in the promotion of cricket at the grassroots level, as the association is now holding eighth edition of the Inter-School Tournament in Karachi, having launched it in 1999.

“We had envisioned the Inter-Schools cricket on the pattern of the Ruby Shield, which used to be the premier tournament of its kind and it’s still talked about with great awe. We have launched something similar and we need supporters like Omar Associates and Bank Alfalah to join hands with us in making it an annual event,” he observed.

“Both the semifinals as well as the final, to be staged at the National Stadium, Karachi, will be telecast live nationally and internationally as was done in the last edition of the tournament,” Fawad Ijaz Khan disclosed.

Nadeem Omar, Managing Director, Omar Associates, paid glowing tribute to the functionaries of the PVCA on organizing the Inter-Schools Tournament in Karachi for the eighth time in 17 years.

“It’s quite an uphill task doing it as there are numerous challenges involved. Hats off to Fawad Ijaz Khan and his PVCA team for having done it quite professionally and nicely. Omar Associates is always a willing sponsor for the sports activities in the country and we are delighted to be supporting the PVCA Inter-Schools Tournament,” he observed.

“It’s indeed a pity that just a few athletes of our country participated in the recently concluded Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. We need to build a proper infrastructure for sports as we do have the talents which are not being utilized,” he reckoned.

Aly Mustansir, Chief Marketing Officer, Bank Alfalah, welcoming the initiative of the PVCA of continuously holding Inter-Schools Tournament in Karachi, expressed the hoped that it will also be taken to other cities.

“Extending support in developing indigenous talent and taking innovation in to the next level are part of our institutional strategy as well. Inter-Schools Tournament provide solid platform to the rising talent and it’s extremely beneficial for the cause of the game,” he noted.

Meanwhile the participating teams of the PVCA Inter-Schools Cricket Tournament 2016 for the Omar Trophy have been divided equally in eight groups.

The Group A comprises of Ladybird Grammar School, Beaconhouse School, CAA School and Fahim School System while the Group B contains Fahad Academy, Happy Palace School, Fatimiyah Boys School and Zaheer Public School.

The Group C features St Paul English School, Qadri Model English School, Zeeshan Secondary School and Qamar Bani Hashim School while the Group D is composed of Khan Secondary School, Al Fatima Academy, Oasis English Secondary School and The Educators.

The quartet of BM Grammar School, Aga Khan Higher Secondary School, Springfield School and Hira Foundation Boys School constitute the Group E while the Group F has the presence of Ebrahim Ali Bhai School, Karachi Public School, Government Boys Secondary School No 2 and Al Hameed Secondary School.

The Group G includes Karachi Gymkhana Schoolboys, Foundation Public School, St Patrick’s High School and Behbud Boys Secondary School while the four teams in the Group H are Kamran Public School, New Standard Secondary School, Falcon House Grammar School and The City School.

At the end of the league matches, the leaders of all the eight groups will be advancing to the knockout stage of the competition, starting with the quarter-finals on October 31. The semifinals on November 10 and 11 will be followed by the final on November 15.