M. Irshad Ullah
PESHAWAR: The Chitral Cricket Championship came to an exciting conclusion with Chitral Hunters claiming victory over Upper Chitral Titans by two wickets in a thrilling final.
A total of eight teams from Chitral participated in the championship.
Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi distributed prizes among the winning players at the closing ceremony. He was accompanied by Director Sports Peshawar University Bahrakram, renowned social and political figure Shahid Khan Shinwari, Dean of the Faculty of Numerical and Physical Sciences Professor Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, Registrar of Peshawar University Professor Dr. Yureed Ahsan Zia and others.
The championship, held at Peshawar University\’s KMC Cricket Ground, saw Upper Chitral Titans winning the toss and electing to bat first. They scored 144 runs in the allotted 20 overs with Shuja scoring 54, Amir Qureshi 30 and Mehmood 22 runs.
For Chitral Hunters, Irfan Khan took three wickets while Obaidur Rehman and Usman Ali Khan claimed two wickets each.
In response, Chitral Hunters chased the target in the final over, securing victory with eight wickets down. Wajiuddin scored 38, Mudassir 29 and Mehmoodul Hassan 24 runs. On the bowling side, Amir Qureshi took three wickets while Imran and Shuja claimed two wickets each.
Speaking at the ceremony, Governor Kundi expressed regret that first-class cricket had not been played in the province for the past 10 years. He criticized the lack of efforts to host Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa despite the presence of Peshawar Zalmi.
He also expressed displeasure over the prolonged construction of Arbab Niaz Cricket Stadium which had remained incomplete since 2017, while the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had managed to build stadiums in other cities within a few months.
Governor Kundi urged the provincial government to focus on reviving sports grounds. He said 10 teams from Chitral had to come to Peshawar due to the absence of sports facilities in their hometown. Acknowledging the cricketing talent in Chitral, he announced that he would discuss with PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi the establishment of a cricket academy in Chitral to support and nurture young players from the region.