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Friday, 15 January 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 trophy will touch down on Sri Lankan shores on 16 January for a three-day stop en route to its global journey spanning 12 countries. The trophy travels through all T20 playing nations, before it returns to India, where the tournament gets underway from 8th March to 3rd April 2016.
Sponsored by Nissan, the trophy tour of Sri Lanka will provide ample opportunities for local cricket fans to glimpse the coveted prize, especially significant since defending champions Sri Lanka are without doubt strong contenders at No. 3 in the current T20 team rankings.
Sri Lanka Cricket President Thilanga Sumathipala said: “Sri Lanka is privileged to play host to the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 trophy during its global Nissan trophy tour from 16th to 19th January 2016. This event will enable the general public to view the trophy in its glory on 17th January at the Galle Face, where it will be displayed. The trophy will be then be taken to the Khettarama Cricket Stadium on 18 January where budding cricketers, get a closer look at the prize, and hopefully are inspired to one day lift the trophy while playing for the national team.
“The T20 format of the game is extremely popular across age and gender barriers in Sri Lanka and thus we expect a large turnout at the trophy display events. The national T20 team is primed and ready to deliver a strong performance in a spirited bid to lift the coveted trophy on 3 April, at the grand finale of the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 edition.”
The trophy will be flown by Sri Lanka’s national carrier, Sri Lankan Airlines, while the Trophy Tour sponsor, Nissan Global, has stepped forward to partner with ICC for this tournament. Nissan sees common ground in the passion and exhilaration cricket fans feel while watching a match, as being similar to what they want people to feel when driving a Nissan car.
Commenting on the exhibition of the trophy, Raymond Palmer, Promotions Officer, International Cricket Council, said: “ICC is delighted to embark on the Nissan Trophy Tour and offers fans in Sri Lanka and other 11 nations the chance to view the highly coveted 2016 trophy. We expect the Nissan trophy tour to generate excitement and heighten expectation amongst the public ahead of the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 tournament from 8 March to 3 April. It is the fans who have infused so much life and excitement in this format of the game and we see this as an ideal opportunity to reward them by providing the opportunity to see the trophy first-hand.”
Scotland was the trophy’s first port of call, before travelling to Ireland, England and the Netherlands as part of its European leg. The trophy continued on to an African Safari, and now it has come to Asia. The trophy arrives in Sri Lanka after having travelled through Pakistan and Bangladesh. From the Emerald Isle the biggest Prize in T20 Cricket moves on to New Zealand and Australia, before returning to New Delhi on 1 February, where it is scheduled to go on a domestic tour to all the eight venues of the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016.
