KARACHI: A record number of 109 teams from every nook and corner of the country will be participating in the 17th National Seniors Cup Cricket Tournament 2015 which gets underway on Sunday (today).

The inaugural match of the Southern Zone will be played between Karachi Gymkhana and Karachi A A Pakwan here at Karachi Gymkhana Cricket Ground in which Nadeem Omar, Managing Director, Omar Associates (Pvt) Ltd, will be the chief guest.

The Northern Zone matches will also be starting simultaneously at the upcountry venues.

The salient features of the tournament were unveiled by Fawad Ijaz Khan, Chairman, Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA), in a well-attended media briefing here at the Karachi Gymkhana banquet hall on Saturday.

Fawad revealed that the total cost of the tournament, during which a record 218 matches will be played, is estimated to be rupees five million which includes the prize money of Rs 609,000.

He explained that the operational costs were on the higher side while organizing the Northern Zone matches.

The PVCA official disclosed that the 109 participating teams from 61 cities have been divided into 29 Groups. There will be 72 outfits from Punjab, 18 from Khyber Pakhtunkwa and Islamabad, 10 from Karachi and Balochistan and nine from the interior of Sindh.

The final to be telecast live will be played between the champions of North Zone and South Zone here at the National Stadium on April 19. Players over 40 years of age are eligible to play in the tournament.

Corrado Fabi, CEO of main sponsors IMI Omar (Pvt) Ltd, also spoke about his growing love for the game of cricket.

“Football is the most popular sport in Italy where I live with motor racing being next on the list. I have been introduced to cricket by Nadeem and I have found the game to be quite thrilling. Watching the passion which everyone has for cricket here, I am sure the sport has a firm foothold in Pakistan ,” Fabi, himself a former former Formula One driver, observed.Published in Dawn January 18th , 2015

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