KARACHI: Secretary Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Sindh Syed Imtiaz Ali Shah on Thurs­day praised the tremendous achievements of the blind cricketers and said the entire nation is proud of them.

“Sports is the best way to win over the hearts of people and the Pakistani athletes who represent the country are a source of pride for the nation, especially the visually impaired sportspersons,” said Imtiaz while speaking at a function organized by Pakistan Blind Cricket Council in the honour of Karachi, Abbottabad, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Multan, Quetta, Sargodha and Sheikhupura teams which participated in the NBP Blind Cricket Trophy Grade 2 recently.

“The message of peace and love will go all over the country through the teams’ participating in the Grade II Cricket Trophy,” said Secretary Sports. “I am trying to promote sports in every district of the province so that new talent can be highlighted and Sindh’s representation at the national level can be significantly increased at the international level,” added Imtiaz Ali Shah.

PBCC chairman Syed Sultan Shah and a large number of blind cricketers, officials and their families were also present on the occasion.

It maybe mentioned here that five-time Blind Cricket World Cup final playing and two-time world champion Pakistani team have always shown outstanding performance in the World Cup and bilateral series.

Chairman PBCC Syed Sultan Shah said that Imtiaz Ali Shah is a sportsman and he is very fond of the game and has shown keen interest in the development and promotion of blind cricket in the province. “The players who have won awards for the country in the past are role models for our young cricketers. Grade Two trophy is a great opportunity for young lads to impress everyone with their performance.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2021