Strong team from Middle East for Memon Premier League contest in Colombo

The Sri Lankan entrepreneur based in Dubai since 1975 and the Captain of Royal College Rowing Team from 1974-1975, currently the World Memon Organisation Middle East Chapter, Trustee and team CEO Farook Kassim, was requested at eleventh hour to once again lead the team’s management for the second edition of the Memon Premier League in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 24th – 30th August 2015. 

The team’s management is lead by the Team CEO Farook Kassim with the Chairman of the International Youth Wing Salmaan Hussain taking the team manager’s role. 

Atif Iftikhar who was the assistant coach in the inaugural edition was appointed as the head coach of the team. 

The first trials were held in May 2015 where more than 50 players turned up for selection for the 2nd Memon Premier League in Colombo, Sri Lanka.  A total of 22 players were selected as part of the preliminary squad and after 2 months of training a final squad of 16 players was announced by the team management’s selection committee. 

Mohamed Akil, who captained the Middle East team during the inaugural Memon Premier League, was retained as the Captain while Amin Maklai was named as his deputy. 

The team is a mixed bunch of lads who has played either for Colleges, University teams or Clubs. Further, these players are from different cultures and Asian subcontinent countries (India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) which make this team unique from the others.

This year’s build up and fresh faces in the squad has enabled the team management to form a much stronger team than the one which toured last time. Due to the mix of nationalities in the squad, the true memon spirit is on display every time the team is together. For the World Memon Organisation, this is a very healthy sign going into the biggest and most iconic event in the WMO Calendar. 

Fielding has been a key role the coach has been concentrating on, with dedicated one month training only to work on the fielding. Despite the harsh weather conditions in the UAE during this time of the year, the players have put in their 100% and have not been shy from any challenges or drills conducted by the coach. With a much more athletic and skillful team packed with power hitters and menacing quick bowlers, the team is looking forward to put up a grand show in Colombo. 

The team management is backing the squad to deliver an exciting contest every time they take the field and are adamant of great results at the 2nd Memon Premier League. 

The tournament which will be held at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka has been planned once again by the Far East Chapter of the World Memon Organization (WMO), an international umbrella organization of the Memon Community serving humanity through its seven chapters in Pakistan, India, Far East, Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America following the successful inaugural T20 cricket tournament held in Colombo in February 2013.

The six teams will participate in the tournament, representing six chapters, namely the Far East, European, the Middle East, Pakistan, India and South Africa. In the Inaugural edition, Pakistan Chapter has won the Championship while the Middle East Chapter won the Fair Play Award.

Sponsor of the Memon Premier League (MPL) 2 are Phoenix Industries as Platinum sponsor and Expo Freight – EFL being the Gold sponsor.

A Group photo of the team with officials of the WMO ME Chapter at the Dubai Airport