Fayyaz Sumbal cricket series charity cup ends

ISLAMABAD: The Fayyaz Sumbal Cricket Series Charity Cup came to an end after an exciting two days’ matches between Australian Police Federation XI vs Islamabad XI and Australian Police Federation XI vs Serena Hotels XI, says a press release.

The matches were held at Marghazar Cricket Stadium, Islamabad, where the charity cup was held under the Serena Hotels sports diplomacy initiative.

The Fayyaz Sumbal Foundation is named after Deputy Inspector General Fayyaz Sumbal, who was amongst 38 people tragically killed in suicide bombing at a funeral in Pakistan in 2013. The foundation aims to honour Fayyaz’s work by continuing to work for peace and security, as well as fostering goodwill and cooperation between Australia and Pakistan.

The foundation raises funds for provincial police in Pakistan and donates these funds every year to the respective police welfare branches. Aziz Boolani, CEO Serena Hotels, said: “Cricket is a passion in Pakistan and as a sport it embodies all the best attributes of any game — encouraging teamwork, discipline, hard work and strategic thinking. Under Serena Hotels Sports Diplomacy initiatives, we support, facilitate and sponsor numerous sports events and our commitments to sports diplomacy and corporate social responsibility have found expression in the Fayyaz Sumbal Cricket Series Charity Cup.

Serena Hotels has incorporated sports diplomacy into its annual calendar by hosting, sponsoring or facilitating diverse tournaments and matches which transcend cultural differences and bring people together.

There is a universal passion for sports across different ages and types of people which pave the way to transcend linguistic and socio-cultural differences and bring people together.The Australian Federal Police XI played a friendly match against Serena XI in which Serena Hotels was elected to bat first and gave target of 159 runs. In reply, AFP XI achieved the target for the loss of four wickets. Moeid Ahmed Shaikh scored 70 runs not out and was declared man of the match.

It is worth mentioning that AFP XI will be playing friendly matches in Lahore and Karachi after Islamabad tour. Michel Galopin, General Manager Islamabad Serena Hotel, was the chief guest of the match and distributed prizes among the winning team.