21st September 2016 19:13:40 Hours
Murali Harmony Cup 20 - 20 Cricket Tournament that attracts all teenage male and female cricketers from the North and East began this morning (21) after a formal inaugural ceremony, held at Nelum Piyasa auditorium, Kilinochchi on Tuesday (20).
5th in sequence, the Murali Harmony Cup cricket tournament, initiated to promote and encourage school cricketers in rural war-affected Northern and Eastern areas will continue till Sunday (25).
The tournament, sponsored largely by Guna Jaya Sathuta Padanama (Foundation of Goodness), chaired by Mr Kushil Gunasekara and veteran cricketers, like Muttiah Muralidharan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, is competed by 16 male school cricket teams and 8 female cricket teams who are set to play in 5 specific school playgrounds, situated in war-affected northern regions of Mankulam, Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mullaittivu. However, girls’ teams would be confined to the playground at Mankulam Maha Vidyalayam, Mankulam.
Major General Amal Karunasekara, Commander, Security Forces - Kilinochchi as the Chief Guest, together with Mr Kushil Gunasekara, Chairman, Foundation of Goodness, veteran cricketer Kumar Sangakkara, Zonal Director of Education for Kilinochchi, officials of the Guna Jaya Sathuta Padanama, Principal at Kilinochchi Central College, tournament participants, school coaches, teachers witnessed the formal inaugural ceremony on Tuesday (20).
The semi-final matches would get underway on Saturday (24) and the final tussle will take place at Kilinochchi Central College ground on Sunday (25) in the presence of a distinguished gathering.
During the inaugural ceremony on Tuesday (20), Major General Karunasekara as the Chief Guest spoke to the budding cricketers and underlined the importance of cricket and collective participation in sports for the promotion of co-existence and harmony.
