Magic carpet ride to play cricket in Ceylon

To many people, the island of Ceylon is known for its world class tea. To others, Sri Lanka represents the heroics of Sanathan Jayasuriya, Kumara Sangarara and Mahela Jawaladene, to name but a few of the outstanding cricketers at the foot of the Indian sub-continent.

Towards this mystic island, local sports star and head coach Farouk Seedat will lead a contingent of cricketers for a two-week stint, playing against the island’s best sides.

Seedat, as head coach of the Western Cape Schools, will take with him the under 12, under 14 and under 19 teams to play a series of games.

This is an exceptional opportunity, and Seedat seems to make a habit of touring the cricket ‘hot-spots’ with his brand of hands-on coaching and mentorship of young learners.

A key player of the squad is local cricketer Poovan Govender, who plies his cricketing skills with K&L African United Cricket Club in the Northern District Cricket Union (NDCU). This is the third year Poovan has been invited to participate in foreign tours, having already visited Bangalore and New Delhi in India. A special thanks to the many generous people who helped him fulfil his dream of playing cricket on foreign fields. He will also be the captain of the under 19 team, and is expecting to play some of the best cricket of his life abroad.

Last words from Coach Seedat: “Dubai was breathtaking, Bangalore was inspiring, and now Colombo awaits us. It is part of our journey to expose our young cricketers to a variety of international influences, to inspire them by providing the correct exemplars of cricket and the different training facilities, and most importantly, instilling a value system based on social cohesion and sportsmanship.”

All the best!