Thursday Nov 14, 2024
Thursday Nov 14, 2024
Saturday, 23 February 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
With the presence of Sports Minister Harin Fernando, the past and present cricketers challenge budding fast bowlers to come strike fear into batsmen at the launch of ‘Airtel’s fastest’ with Derana TV
The buffer free data network Bharti Airtel Lanka is looking to ignite the cricketing landscape with an islandwide hunt for Sri Lanka’s fastest bowler.
‘Airtel’s Fastest’ will commence today (23 February) will be holding fast bowling auditions across the country; looking to finally unearth Sri Lanka’s fastest Amateur, School Boy and Female in the country.
Commenting at the launch, Minister of Sports Harin Fernando said: “This was something I was deliberating putting together, and am grateful that Airtel stepped up with this timely initiative. There is a lot of undiscovered talent across Sri Lanka, all looking for a way to make their dreams of playing for the national team a reality. ‘Airtel’s Fastest’ is a great opportunity for them and I am confident we will unearth a few stars who will represent the country with distinction.”
Anyone between the ages of 16 and 24 can participate in the open auditions, which kicked off in February covering, Jaffna, Polonnaruwa, Batticaloa, Matara, Badulla, Ruwanwella, Gampaha, Kurunegala, Kandy, Horana and Colombo. A hundred fast bowlers will be selected from these trials and will be then put through a coaching camp with Airtel’s ‘Super Star coaching team’ consisting of LasithMalinga, Anusha Samaranayake and Chaminda Vaas, after which they will be put through a series of challenges to select the fastest in each category.
“Airtel has always stood for youth empowerment, we believe in bringing an exciting platforms and opportunities to showcase and develop their talents. ‘Airtel’s Fastest’ is another example. We’ve invested in some of the best fast bowling coaching talent in the world, and are sure the young boys and girls will benefit from their experience. We are also exited to announce that the entire talent hunt will be turned into a 20 episode TV reality show with the help of our partners in this project Derana TV,” said Bharti Airtel Lanka CEO Jinesh Hegde. Bowling legends of the Sri Lankan Cricket team too, took the opportunity in highlighting the importance of initiating local competitions such as ‘Airtel’s Fastest’ and how this will impact in building up much stronger national cricket teams in Sri Lanka, in both men and women sectors. Highlighting the opportunities it creates in powering up the future national cricket team of Sri Lanka, Right arm fast bowling legend and brand ambassador, Lasith Malinga said: “At a time when Sri Lanka is in need of fresh talent at national level, this initiative made by Bharti Airtel Lanka is a golden ticket for the young bowlers of Sri Lanka to come into the limelight. I urge all budding fast bowlers to come forward and grab this opportunity with both hands.”
Details of trial locations and dates as well as applications for the competition can be found on Airtel’s Facebook page ‘airtellife’. The organisers have also ensured that registrations can be done on the day of the event at the locations. Participants are urged to bring along some kind of photo identification when registering.
