Grand send-off for Toronto Mayor’s Cricket team to Sri Lanka

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2015 Toronto Mayor's XI to Sr Lanka. (Pictures by City of Toronto)

2015 Toronto Mayor’s XI to Sr Lanka. (Pictures by City of Toronto)

The Toronto Mayor’s Cricket team received a grand-send off at City Hall. The team comprised of youth from the Toronto area.

Smartly dressed in grey suites with red ties, the team was presented to the Mayor and the media.

“Being a member of this team is an honour and an accomplishment to be remembered as you represent Toronto in Sri Lanka,” said Mayor John Tory. “All those selected today to be part of the CIMA Toronto Mayor’s Cricket Team should be proud of their hard work, training and sportsmanship.”

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Mayor John Tory addresses the team.

Mayor John Tory addresses the team.t

The City of Toronto is CIMA’s partner in promoting the Cricket Across the Pond (CAP) scholarship program. CAP uses cricket as a vehicle to reach out to youth from Toronto’s diverse neighbourhoods by giving them a sense of hope, increased self-esteem and opportunities to become positive role models in their communities, said a press release from the annual celebration of cricket.

CAP usually sends its team to the UK, however, this year the team will play in Sri Lanka, against school children from Colombo, Jaffna, Kandy, and the Foundation of Goodness in Hikkaduwa.

CAP provides young cricketers in the Greater Toronto Area with the opportunity to travel to Sri Lanka to represent Toronto and learn leadership skills as ambassadors for the city. The aim of the Sri Lankan tour of the 2015 CIMA Mayor’sCricket Team is to develop these Toronto youth into role models for their communities.  The Sri Lanka tour showcases the power of sports to cross cultural and geographic borders and strengthen the bonds between nations.

The High Commissioner of Canada to Sri Lanka and Maldives, Shelley Whiting, will host a welcome reception to the team prior to the start of tour matches. The tour matches will take place in the southern and northern provinces in Sri Lanka, providing great opportunities to engage youth and develop social cohesion and interaction through cricket.

Players for the 2015 CIMA Mayor’s Cricket Team include:
Salman Khan, Glendale Secondary School, Hamilton
Syed Shaheer Izhar, Dr. Frank J. Hayden Secondary School, Burlington
Gazenfar Syed, Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School, Ajax
Harikrishna Somaskanda Sarma,   Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute, Scarborough
Krishen Samuel, Saint John Paul II Catholic Secondary School, Scarborough
Mohamed Asad Sikandar, John Fraser Secondary School, Mississauga
Jamit Kumar Patel, Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute, Toronto
Rohan Kundlas, Lincoln M. Alexander Secondary School, Mississauga
Arminder Atwal, Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute, Scarborough
Emanual Khokar, Cardinal Leger Catholic Secondary School, Brampton
Lakshan Geegana, North Park Secondary School, Hamilton
Meigha Perera, Bill Crothers Secondary School, Markham

Date Match Vs. Location Start Time
June 30, 2015 Canadian High Commission NCC Grounds 2.00 pm
July 1, 2015 St. Benedict’s College St. Benedict’s College 11.00 am
July 2, 2015 Foundation of Goodness – Youth team FoG Grounds Hikkaduwa 10.00 am
July 3, 2015 Piliyandala Central College PCC Grounds 2.00 pm
July 4, 2015 St. Sebastian’s College St. Sebastian’s Grounds Moratuwa 2.00 pm
July 7, 2015 Jaffna schools T20 – Tournament Day 1 St. Patick’s College Grounds , Jaffna 9.00 am
July 8, 2015 Jaffna schools T20 – Tournament Day 2 St. Patick’s College Grounds , Jaffna 9.00 am
July 10,2015 Kingswood College Kingswood College Grounds , Kandy 10.00 am