Cricket Legend Sunil Gavaskar launches Danube Outdoor Cricket Team

(prHWY.com) October 10, 2012 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- Dubai, Oct 10, 2012: Commencing a new beginning and supporting the growth of sports in the region, Danube, the leading construction, building materials and shop fitting industry launched a corporate outdoor cricket team called 'Danube Lions' at Grand Hyatt on 9th October 2012.

Dubai has been at the forefront of region's sporting development and has been credited to be the Best Sports City in the Middle East & Africa.* The Dubai based cricket team for Danube is therefore a natural fit for the city that has cricketing enthusiast and fans from all around the world.

"Cricket is spreading at fast pace in the Middle East, especially in Dubai. The love for the game is such that many countries in the Middle East have translated the laws from English to Arabic** for easy understanding of the game." Said Mr.Anis Sajan, Managing Director of Danube Group. "Following our triumph in indoor tournaments, we decided to launch operations for outdoor cricket. With the sport being so popular in the region it is our pleasure to promote and develop the game and open up opportunities for budding talents giving them a challenging platform to compete. Overall this is a beginning and in the coming future we aim to set up several more initiatives like this." He added.

It was in the year 1989 that the UAE cricket team became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council and won some of the most coveted tournaments such as the ACC Trophy on four consecutive occasions between 2000 and 2006, and the ICC Trophy in 1994.

In line with the same vision, Danube Lions spearheaded by former batting maestro and the brand ambassador of Danube, Mr.Sunil Gavaskar, features cricketing stalwarts who have carved a niche for themselves which include Naemuddin, Prashant Braggs, Bakhtiyar, Vikrant Shetty, CTK Mashood, Sameer Nayak, Haroon Iftikhar, Syed Maqsood, Devendra Taneja, Mohd Asif Iqbal, Shibith, Ahmed Raza, Samiullah, Haaris Khan, Andre, Ajmal, Thompson the Manager and Raja Anand the technical advisor. The multi-cultural team of players brings about the best efficiencies helping promote a global culture of cricket where the game will not just be a weekend sport, but will also be played at a more professional level.

"The objective is to connect every cricket connoisseur and professional directly or indirectly with the game. The idea is to discover and nurture the young talents and also instil the right spirit to help the young players lead a healthy lifestyle. Moreover, cricket facilities in the UAE are truly world-class and I am confident that the outdoor team will see sporting excellence in the years to come." Said Mr.Sunil Gavaskar, the Brand Ambassador of Danube.

Being masters of the sport, Danube Lions has won several accolades such as Indoor Cricket Summer Camp, Ramadan Twenty20 Cup, Pehla Indoor Ramadan Cup and has claimed the recent title for DBMSC Tournament as well.

Though many had criticized the sport in the UAE, saying that it would be foolhardy to play in the heat, cricket as a game has evolved and gained popularity in the UAE and Danube, as always has put a unique spin on a new capability attracting people from different walks of life not only as players, but also as fans.

Source:
*http://www.emirates247.com/sports/other/dubai-named-the-best-sports-city-in-middle-east-2012-06-06-1.461916
**http://surgar.net/english/-news-pg-Sports-1075.html

-ENDS-

###