HARARE - In a move that will see more disadvantaged children get the opportunity to take up cricket, a Dubai-based charity, Shyam Bhatia Cricket for Care, has donated kit to the development programme run by Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC).The donation, which is comprised of cricket balls, bats, helmets, wicket-keeping gloves and other protective gear was handed over to the five franchises at a ceremony held in Harare last week. Each franchise will then ensure that the bags are distributed within their twinned provinces to those children who would not otherwise afford the kit. Shyam Bhatia Cricket for Care is a charity founded by industrialist and cricket patron, Shyam Bhatia. Bhatia has also made donations, in cash to the cricket boards of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa, West Indies and now Zimbabwe.
“Cricket has made me what I am today. The prospect of giving under-privileged children around the world the opportunity to also benefit from cricket brings me immeasurable joy,” said Bhatia while in Zimbabwe. The ZC development programme seeks to spread, sustain and improve the game. Through its scholarship programme, facilities maintenance and club and tertiary cricket projects, it has continued to produce cricketers over the years, with many of them going on to play for the national team.
ZC board chairman, Peter Chingoka, said: “This donation means a lot to our development programme but even more to the young cricketers at the grassroots who will receive the kit soon. As ZC we have always believed in the need to make cricket a sport that embraces all Zimbabweans, no matter where they live or go to school. Thanks to Bhatia’s generous contribution, we are able to continue to do just that.”
The ZC general manager for cricket affairs who is also in charge of development, Trevor Mutangadura, pointed out that the near-breakdown in the school system in 2008 greatly affected the delivery of schools cricket development programmes in Zimbabwe and that the cost of kit and equipment continues to hamper many talented but underprivileged children from participating in the sport.
“In response to this, ZC centralised development programmes and launched cricket development centres (CDCs) where talented cricketers from the schools surrounding the CDC were registered to attend age-group sessions. Donations such as that from the Shyam Bhatia Cricket for Care go a long way in ensuring that the children in our programme have the right equipment so that their natural talent is enhanced by our early coaching,” said Mutangadura.
Post published in: Athletics