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Winner gives it all!
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Unlike other cricket tournaments where the winner goes home with the trophy and the cash award, the three-month long 3rd CRY Cadence Corporate Tournament has had the opposite rule - whoever wins pays - and yet the participants have had a great time. All for bringing back smiles to needy children, says SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY... .
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IN THIS World Cup season, even the everyday friendly cricket match played in your by-lane seems to have that killer effect of the cricketing world's greatest event. If noticed closely, one might see someone trying to make that ball move like Ashish Nehra's or swing the bat as if to replay Sachin Tendulkar's impressive innings against Zimbabwe or maybe do a Srinath or Kumble and the like. Played with all seriousness, this series of 127 matches held in New Delhi is also cricket to the last ball with all the required punch and professionalism of the game but done with one serious difference - the winners are not supposed to be paid the winning cash amount but in turn, have to pay the organisers! No, it has nothing to do with match-fixing or any marketing gimmick but all for a cause noble, the cause to bring at par that section of our young citizens who are underprivileged. So, whoever of the 24 playing participating teams hit a four or a six has to pay Rs. 400 and Rs. 600 respectively.
The bowler whose ball bowled a batsman ended up losing Rs. 400 and the team which took a wicket had to shell out Rs. 800. "But nobody did mind doing that. Even the trophy lifter, players from the private sector Cadence Design Systems, is paying a sum of 20 lakh for the cause," says Anup Tiwari from Child Relief and You - CRY - the joint organisers of the
3rd CRY Cadence Corporate Crcket Challenge. Played by 24 corporate teams and a media group over 20 weekends the tournament, say the participants, was nothing but excitement. The CRY too is beaming with happiness as this tourney would enable the Non-Governmental Organisation to take care of all the needs of about 3,500 needy children.
"After the first year's tournament, it benefited 850 children, the last year's too did good for 1,050 kids and this year, it has jumped to 3,500, which is every encouraging," says Tiwari. Each of the 14 sponsors, including Hughes Software, HCL, HP etc, donated Rs.35,000 to take part in the tournament.
"Besides matches between corporate teams, one game was played between Media XII and Corporate XII and through it, Rs. 42,000 was raised," informs Tiwari. The winners were given away the trophy at an impressive function held at The Oberoi this past week.
Besides a makeshift cricketing pitch and cricketing bigwigs like Bishen Singh Bedi, Chetan Chauhan, Sunil Walson, Surinder Khanna, Vijay Yadav and Gurucharan Singh, etc arm in arm with corporate honchos, the show also saw social activist Nafisa Ali auctioning a bat and ball donated by cricketer Kapil Dev from his prized possession - again to raise funds to bring back smiles to deserving children.
Well then, who says cricket makes cricketers rich, should play in this tournament to know how it is not at times.
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
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Thiruvananthapuram
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