Sprite Cricket Next holds 'Gali Cricket'

Cricket enthusiasts in large numbers turned up at the Bagh-e-Ibn-e-Qasim in Clifton, to witness the final zonal match between Karachi's best gali cricketers, organised under the Sprite Cricket Next 2011 banner, recently. The chief guest on the occasion, Secretary Sports Sindh, Shoaib Siddique, accompanied by the Director Sports Sindh, presented cheques to the winners and runners up.
First launched in 2010 and again being held this year, Sprite Cricket Next is an innovative campaign that aims to unearth hidden talent and pick the best gali (street) cricketers Pakistan has to offer. The 2011 Sprite Cricket Next format has teams of 4 players contending with each other to be crowned the first-ever National Gali Cricket Champions of Pakistan.
Sprite Yasir XI won the Karachi leg of the event and now they compete with winners of other 12 cities for the title of National Gali Championship. Spread across 13 cities, the campaign offers cricketing technology that previously was only available to professionals of the sport. Street cricketers from across Pakistan are now getting the opportunity to prove their mettle and demonstrate their ability, while being scored through the technology provided.
This is an opportunity for street cricketers to gauge their batting ability through wagon-wheels and action replays, which generate real time statistics such as runs made per over and areas where their shots have travelled. Bowlers will also have the incentive of knowing the quality of their performance, as information on their bowling speed and accuracy of delivery through pitch maps and speed guns is made readily available.
Expressing his views at the event, Fahad Qadir, Public Affairs and Communications Manager of Coca-Cola said, "Gali cricket is at the heart of cricket in Pakistan. It is the nursery that has produced countless national team players and even several world-ranking players. Sprite Cricket Next is a tribute to gali cricket and gali cricketers, and Sprite is proud to have brought this technology to the street level, so that maximum number of cricket enthusiasts can benefit."
Sprite Cricket Next is yet another Coke initiative to engage and promote healthy activities amongst the youth. Such activities not only promote our sporting culture but also develop a sense of community in Pakistani youth, who have the potential to be the superstars of tomorrow. Initiatives such as Sprite Cricket Next are based on Coca-Cola's Live Positively philosophy.-PR