Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals 2017 begins
View(s):The Red Bull Campus Cricket World Final is set to be played in Colombo and Galle from September 10 to 16. Teams from Australia, Bangladesh, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, UAE and Sri Lanka have each qualified by winning their national tournaments. Sri Lanka is represented by Business Management School (BMS), who are the defending champions of the tournament. All overseas teams have already reached Sri Lanka to take part in the seven-day tournament. The draw of the tournament was held last evening with the presence of all captains and team officials. - NA
UAE: Herriot Watt University, Dubai: Herriot Watt also played in the 2016 World Final, and are graced by the presence of three UAE national players: Rohit Singh, Khalid Farhan and Chirag Suri. From among these three, Suri is the most accomplished. He earned an IPL contract with Gujarat Lions for the 2017 season.
Zimbabwe: National University of Science and Technology: This is the first time a team from Zimbabwe is being represented at the Campus Cricket World Final – and what better year to make an appearance than 2017, in which Zimbabwe’s national team beat Sri Lanka in an ODI series for the first time.
Pakistan: Jinnah Government College , Karachi: Having missed out on qualification to the World Final last year, 2015’s Pakistan champions return to the fray with plenty of high-quality players. Faizan Khan and Arsalan Bashir play first-class cricket, while Hasan Mohsin and Ammad Alam have Pakistan Super League contracts.
Australia: University of Sydney This is the third consecutive year in which University of Sydney have won their national tournament to progress to the World Final. Among their most highly rated players will be bowler Devlin Malone who has a Big Bash League Contract with the Melbourne Stars, and batsman Henry Hunt, who has played for the Australia’s Under-19 side
Sri Lanka: Business Management School: The defending world champions of the Campus Cricket title, BMS will again field a star-studded team, featuring no less than Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella, Sri Lanka allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga, and left-arm spinner Amila Aponso.
India: Marathwada Mitra Mandal College of Commerce, Pune: This is MMMC’s second successive year at the World Final, and having failed to make the knockouts in 2016, they will be desperate to make this campaign count. In their ranks are several highly-rated domestic players, including Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rohan Damle who already play for the Maharashtra Ranji team, which is one of the most difficult states to represent.