Professor Ijaz Ahmed Farooqui, the former president of KCCA, has proved a real Messiah of domestic cricket at grassroots level.
Even after completing his term as president of KCCA in August he is financially rewarding Karachi players who have performed well in any PCB cricket tournament.
He awarded Rs 5,000 to more than a dozen emerging cricketers, who had either taken five wickets in an innings or scored a century, the scoreline.org has learnt.
The interim committee members are getting involved in affairs with which they have nothing to do. They have been egged on by a person who has always hatched conspiracies against Karachi’s cricket
The players and officials who represented Karachi in under-19, T20, one-day and Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches were surprised when they received the prize money on their good performance.
Every Tom, Dick and Harry can make money in Pakistani cricket system because of its glamour.
But Farooqui presented an unprecedented example of serving the game and players.
Farooqui served Karachi cricket untiringly for a long time for which his era will be remembered as a golden period.
He faced some difficulties as some crooks created hurdles in his way but he prevailed after all.
Farooqui completed his tenure of three years a couple of months ago and left the office with dignity and grace.
Despite several conspiracies, he did not give up and continued serving the game, many times through his own resources.
The KCCA interim committee doesn’t know that the office where they are sitting and criticizing Farooqui was developed by Farooqui by spending his own resources.
Before that KCCA office used to be called “Bhoot Bangla”.
Farooqui, being an educationist, understands the importance of sports for development of any nation. He took the financial burden off the back of local organizers, inducing them to organize maximum amount of cricket
The interim committee members are getting involved in affairs with which they have nothing to do. They have been egged on by a person who has always hatched conspiracies against Karachi’s cricket.
A number of cricketers in various age categories played for Pakistan during the period when Farooqui was KCCA president.
On one hand Farooqui is helping Karachi’s cricketers despite having no official position but on the other some people who have got positions in the absence of an elected body are making efforts to find something fishy to defame the previous management of KCCA.
They are trying to delay the KCCA election but what can they find when there was a person who bore expenses of Karachi’s cricket through his own resources. It is a shame that instead of recognizing the services of such a man people want to target him.
Farooqui says he will keep doing whatever he can for the promotion of cricket in the city. “I did not make tall claims because I believe action speaks louder than words,” he says.
He says he will contest election as more than 90 percent of KCCA’s zonal officials who are entitled to vote have confidence in him.
He says when he is elected he will try to establish at least one academy in every zone. Besides, he wants to renovate the KCCA stadium, which has been lying unused for years. He wants the stadium to be used for first class cricket.
He says the local cricket organisers know what has been done for the promotion of cricket in the city in the last three years.
Farooqui, being an educationist, understands the importance of sports for development of any nation. He took the financial burden off the back of local organizers, inducing them to organize maximum amount of cricket.
He abolished entry fees of tournaments, club registration fees, ground charges, referees and umpires fees, scorer fees. The money for buying cricket balls for all matches was paid by Farooqui himself.
No such example can be found in the domestic cricket history. More than 2000 cricket matches were organized during his three-year tenure.
Karachi’s players’ inclusion in Pakistan’s junior teams, Pakistan A and the national senior side proves how successfully KCCA was run under his leadership.
Following are the names of Karachi’s cricketers who represented Pakistan in various formats: Rumman Raees, Asif Zakir Fazal Subhan, Shahzaib Ahmed, Saad Ali, Muhammad Hasan, Tabish Khan, Saud Sheikh, Mir Hamza, Ghulam Muddasir, Saifullah Bangash, Tariq Bakht, Obaidullah Khan, Ammad Alam, Kashif Irshad, Hyder Ali, Hassan Mohsin, Hassan Khan, Arish Ali Khan, Azam Khan, Muhammad Umer, Saif Ali Ghousi, Muhammad Asad.