The Dhyan Chand National Stadium, India Gate, New Delhi on Sunday the 25th March, 2018, was the venue for the ten-over cricket match between High Commissioners (Diplomats) and the Ekatwam Team with legendary Indian cricketers, where each of the teams fought it out for the Commonwealth Cricket Cup. No marks for guessing – that the Indian cricketing legends went on to win the victory cup. Shivani Wazir Pasrich, the founder of the Commonwealth Cultural Forum and the legendry bowler Bishan Singh Bedi, who is the Patron of the Commonwealth Cricket Cup, hosted the event. The match was followed by the Commonwealth Lunch at the same Venue.
Sunit Tandon, Director Designate, India Habitat Centre, introduced the teams. The Ekatwam team of cricketers, included Kartik Murali (Captain), Kirti Azad, Atul Wassan, Gurcharan Singh, Gursharan Singh, Raj Kumar Sharma, Vijay Dahiya, Amir Singh Pasrich, Sachin Khurana, Manoj Mehra and MP Singh.Other eminent cricketers present included Ajay Jadeja, Vivek Razdan, Abbas Ali Baig Hariharan and Rajendra Amarnath and selector Swaranjit Singh.
The High Commissions Team included H.E. Sir Dominic Asquith – Captain (British High Commissioner), Dr David Goodwin Pollard the High Commissioner of Guyana, H.E. Sohail Mahmood the High Commissioner of Pakistan, Mr Forbes July the Deputy High Commissioner Guyana, Mr Lachlan Scully from Australia, Ms Rosel Scott from Trinidad and Tobago and others from New Zealand.
Other diplomats present included – Mr. Stephen Borg the High Commissioner of Malta, Mr. Syed Muazzem Ali-the High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Mr. Michael Aaron N. N. Oquayeesq the High Commissioner of Ghana, Mr. Kenji Hiramatsu the Ambassador of Japan and Ms. HarinderSiddhu High Commissioner of Australia who did the toss.
The event served two agendas, – of celebrating the upcoming Commonwealth Summit 2018 and to raise awareness about the suffering of people afflicted with Epilepsy by aligning with Ekatwam. Additionally, it also turned into a birthday party for the grand old man of cricket, Gurcharan Singh who has won the Dronacharya award and trained 12 international cricketers. Even as he turned 83 years old, he showed he had not lost any of his fervor as he bowled out two players at the match.This was a part of a series of events held across the globe in the lead up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April 2018, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Commonwealth leaders.
The reigning star of the morning was Shivani Wazir Pasrich, whose event company SWP Productions had conceptualized the event. She merges her multifarious roles as MD of SWP Productions, founder of the Commonwealth Cultural Forum and governing board member of Ekatwam, by initiating the Commonwealth Cricket Cup. Speaking about the endeavor, Shivani W Pasrich said, “I believe that sports unites regardless of culture and stature. Whether through Polo or Cricket, SWP Productions believes in using sports as a medium to advance social causes. Our cricketers are not just great players, they are also wonderful human beings. ViratKohli, Sunil Gavaskar and Gautam Gambhir have spoken out in support of people with Epilepsy and so many of our legendary cricket players are playing to support this cause. As a board member of Ekatwam, I would like to thank our cricketers and all the supporters of the Commonwealth Cricket Cup for letting thousands of people believe Together we Can!”
