Lanka hosts Campus Cricket World Finals from September 23-29
University cricketers from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the UAE and Zimbabwe will be in action at the SSC and NCC Grounds from September 23-29, in the 7th Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals. A tournament which opens the window for campus cricketers to step into the international cricket arena.
The official T-Shirts of the six participating countries are being displayed at the launch of Campus Cricket 2018
For the university teams in the tournament, the World Finals is the culmination of campaigns that began in their home countries. The winners of domestic campus cricket tournaments represent their nation at the global level. Tournament Director, former National cricketer Brendon Kuruppu expects this year’s World Finals to be a very competitive one.
This is the 5th time, and 3rd consecutive occasion, in which Sri Lanka will host the World Final. Home side Business Management School (BMS), who will represent Sri Lanka this year, won the tournament in 2016 and were Runners-up in 2017. They are the strong contenders once again, but any of the six teams have the potential to lift the trophy. Campus cricket tournament features a unique Energizer Over, in which runs are worth double, and a wicket cost the batting side 5 runs. This strategic element has helped to create a high percentage of last over finishes in the 2 years it has been operational.
The entirety of this T20 tournament will be played in Colombo, with a Round Robin stage to precede IPL-style qualifiers, in order to determine the finalists.
Addressing the press briefing at the SSC Pavilion Mr Kuruppu said, “Every year we have played this tournament, the quality of competition has increased. I am sure we will see this trend continue this year too. Sri Lanka Campus Cricket tournament was especially intense, and this will be doubly true for the World Final. There is nothing like the heat of tough competition to help young cricketers hone their skills, and raise their level of play. That’s the kind of environment the Campus Cricket World Finals provide.”
Campus Cricket’s Goodwill Ambassador Roshan Mahanama, in this speech, said, “High quality tournaments such as this one are vital to keep university-aged players in the sport. “If we can encourage players of this age group to keep developing their sport, that’s a good thing. In Sri Lanka, especially, we lose a lot of players between the ages of 18 and 23. It’s not just cricket that loses out, it’s the players as well, because sport teaches you a lot. Campus Cricket is a great initiative to get players combining their studies and sports.”
Past winners of the tournament:
2012 & ’13- India, 2014 & ’15- South Africa, 2016- Sri Lanka, 2017- South Africa.