Ambassador's Speech for Felicitation of Mumbai and Oman Cricket Team

Back | Print

Remarks by Ambassador

Felicitation of Mumbai and Oman Cricket Team

02 September 2021

Mr. Pankaj Khimji, Chairman, Oman Cricket and other senior officials from Oman Cricket;

Mr. Duleep Mendis, Head Coach of Oman Cricket Team;

Mr. Zeeshan Maqsood, Captain of Oman Cricket Team;

Mr. Amol Muzumdar, Coach of Mumbai Cricket Team;

Mr. Shams Mulani, Captain of Mumbai Cricket Team;

Esteemed players and officials from both the teams;

Distinguished Guests, and

Media persons;

Good Evening!

I thank you all for joining us for this special event to felicitate the visiting Mumbai Cricket Team and Oman Cricket Team.

2. Let me first extend a warm welcome to the Mumbai Cricket Team in Oman. We are delighted that Mumbai Team could visit Oman at a short notice and play matches in different formats with Oman team. I had the pleasure to attend one of these matches and witness some amazing cricket. These matches have provided fans and cricket lovers in Oman great entertainment. They must have also helped the Oman team prepare for the important tournaments ahead. Mumbai Cricket Team, as we all know, holds a very special place in India’s cricket arena. Not only, it has a stellar record in domestic tournaments but it has also given us many all time greats of international cricket. I invite you all to give a big round of applause to welcome their presence amidst us.

3. We are also delighted to see Oman making rapid progress in the sports world. In recent years, Oman has successfully hosted many international sporting events. It is a moment of immense pride for Oman that the first match of ICC T20 World Cup shall be played in Oman on this very ground. I would like to commend the leadership of Oman for their vision to promote sports in Oman and develop world-class infrastructure. I would like to congratulate the Oman Cricket for their achievements and extend our best wishes for the successful hosting of T20 World Cup and other international matches in the weeks and months ahead. Our best wishes are also with Oman Cricket Team for success in all the forthcoming tournaments.

4. Friends, sports truly connects and builds bridges of friendship between peoples and countries. India and Oman share a friendship that goes back several thousand years. Ours is truly a vibrant, multifaceted strategic partnership. However, we are really happy to see a new facet of enhanced exchanges in the fields of sports getting added to this partnership. In my three years of stay in Oman, we have had the pleasure of seeing Indian national hockey and football teams play in Oman. Our sailors attended the Olympic qualifiers and did pretty well. They will be returning later this year. We now have a partnership between our Cricket administration bodies which I am sure will grow and strengthen in the years ahead. We also look forward to seeing Mumbai Cricket Team return to Oman and maybe this will become a regular feature.

5. I would like to conclude by recalling a famous quote from Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who of course hails from Mumbai. He had said, “Enjoy the game & chase your dreams because dreams do come true”. Ladies and gentlemen do enjoy the game, as Oman shall witness some amazing cricketing action in the coming days. Thank you.