SBP set to host T20 match for IDPs

Lahore: Pakistan’s national cricket team will take on ‘A’ team in an exhibition Twenty 20 cricket match at Gaddafi Stadium on July 26.

The exhibition match will be played under the banner of Sports Board Punjab (SBP) and its main objective is to raise funds for Internally Displaced Person (IDPs) of North Waziristan. The match will start at 10.30pm. Top politicians, showbiz stars and leading sports stalwarts will also be there to cheer the players and make the fund-raising campaign a success.

SBP, in an important meeting, gave final touches to the preparations of the match on Wednesday. Director General Sports Board Punjab Usman Anwar chaired the meeting which was also attended by MPA Mian Naseer Ahmed, Lahore Division Sports Convener, Saiful Malook Khokhar and District Sports Officer Malik Waqar.

SBP, in support of IDPs, will also organize a couple of other cricket matches at Rawalpindi, Multan and Faisalabad on July 19, 21 and 24 respectively.

Director General Sports Board Punjab Usman Anwar, in a media talk, told that Lahore Division was utilizing all of its resources to raise funds for the poor IDPs. “Around 18000 cricket enthusiasts will watch the cricket match at Gaddafi Stadium. People from all walks of life are expected to witness the match. All the money, gathered from the cricket match, will be sent to IDPs,” he informed.

Usman told that philanthropists will also be invited on the stage to donate for the noble cause so that a handsome amount could be collected for our poor brethren of North Waziristan. “Three cricket bats, signed by the members of national cricket team, will also be auctioned on this occasion,” he added. “A cricket match between Showbiz XI and MPAs XI is also under consideration after the Eid ul Fitr for this purpose,” he added.

Usman Anwar said that SBP will take all possible measures to help IDPs of North Waziristan. “It’s a collective cause not an individual’s job. We all should realise our obligations. All the sections of society should come forward and play their due role for the rehabilitation of IDPs,” he stressed.