KARACHI: Quetta Gladiators owner Nadeem Omar on Monday announced a cash prize of Rs500,000 for Karachi Whites for becoming National One-day Regional Cup champions.

Nadeem, who is also heads Omar Associates and Karachi’s top local outfit Pakistan Cricket Club, added that he has been impressed by the manner Karachi Whites chased down a stiff target of 349 was exemplary after the loss of four key wickets upfront.

“I’m extremely pleased to see Karachi Whites winning the One-day Regional Cup. It was a delight to watch young Danish Aziz play a whirlwind innings in the company of a senior stalwart like Fawad Alam, who just can’t stop scoring heavily,” Nadeem said.

“At one point, the match was almost out of Karachi Whites’ reach but the way Fawad and Danish combined to revive [victory] hopes was a big lesson for everyone. Indeed, it was a treat to watch what Fawad can do at his best, holding up the innings together while Danish played some extravagant shots and was unfazed by the occasion and situation.”

Nadeem also praised the captaincy of Asad Shafiq in the event and also the vast improvement in his batting.

“I would like to appreciate Asad because he was very good as a captain and even better as a batsman. He is scoring heavily in List A matches and has certainly improved him game,” Nadeem observed. “It’s good for Quetta Gladiators that Asad is performing well and the way Saud Shakeel, Saad Ali, Umar Amin, Anwar Ali, Rahat Ali, Mir Hamza. All of them are doing really good.

“Two more players I would like to mention are Khurram Manzoor and Akbar-ur-Rehman. They were brilliant as well while head coach Saleem Jaffar and the rest of team management must be applauded as well for keeping the entire unit motivated and winning the title.”

Nadeem, meanwhile, vowed to continue to support the cricket and players of Karachi while added that Omar Associates and Quetta Gladiators would keep providing platform for the Patron’s Trophy Grade-II, Ramazan cricket and the Pakistan Super League by unearthing talented players and grooming them for the future.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2018