OBSERVER-MOBITEL has picked young cricketers for the future - Naveed
Nawaz
OBSERVER-MOBITEL..... Going down memory lane for the past 34 years,
the SUNDAY OBSERVER now with MOBITEL has done a great service to the
schoolboy cricketers by duly recognising their capabilities.
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Naveed Nawaz |
If cricket fans take a look back they will find young talent that has
surfaced and it has helped the youngsters to play for Sri Lanka in Test
matches or be on call for Test places.
So, the SUNDAY OSBERVER now with MOBITEL is providing all the
opportunities for the young crickets to carry the game forward. Naveed
Nawaz - who was picked as Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year in
1992 is ever so thankful to the two institutions for organising the show
and giving the young schoolboy cricketers all the opportunities. "When I
won the contest in 1992 while at D.S. Senanayake College, I felt as I
had conquered the world while walking on stage at the BMICH to receive
the prestigious award for a schoolboy cricketer," said Nawaz. Nawaz was
a member of the Sri Lanka Under-19 Team that toured Malaysia and
Singapore in 1992.
Although the tour was not the ideal one due to lack of
competitiveness, it helped identify the future players for the country.
The team was captained by Royalist Gamini Perera after his heroic
match saving innings in the Royal-Thomian 'Big Match' and included
players of the calibre of the present Sri Lanka skipper Mahela
Jayawardene, Avishka Gunawardene, Russel Arnold, Chaminda Vaas, Ravindra
Pushpakumara, Indika de Saram, Saman Jayantha and Mario Villavarayan.
Besides the All Island segment, the contest has also brought players
from the outstation schools into the limelight. Sanath Jayasuriya (St.
Servatius', Matara) who shook the cricketing world during his prime,
Tharanga Paranavithana (St. Mary's, Kegalle) and last year's winner of
the Outstation Contest Tharindu Kaushal (Devapathiraja MV, Ratgama) are
some players who have hit the top.
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