Stars shine for sake of children

Anushka WITHANAGE

The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) joined UNICEF and Sri Lanka Cricket in support of the ‘Cricket for Children’ initiative to reintegrate former child soldiers in their communities of origin. The stars of Indian cinema and Sri Lanka cricket, Hrthik Roshan, Suniel Shetty and Kumar Sangakkara, will captain the three teams that will compete for the cause of children in the IIFA Celebrity Cricket Match on the 4th of June.

Part of the proceeds from the match will be donated to the Sri Lanka Cricket and UNICEF ‘Cricket for Children’ initiative.

Speaking on the event, the captain of Sri Lanka’s national team, Kumar Sangakkara said “Cricket can be used as a force for change, bringing hope and healing to vulnerable children”. He will be joined by teammates Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan and Mahela Jayawardena in Friday’s star studded cricket game.

The cricket match will be one of the key features of the Videocon IIFA Weekend celebrations and the Micromax IIFA Awards in Colombo. Wizcraft Director, Sabbas Joseph said “IIFA is proud to join forces with UNICEF and the Sri Lanka Cricket in this noble cause. With this initiative we hope to bring hope and light up the lives of the deprived children.”

“We are harnessing the power of sport and cinema through this event, to reach out to children who have been robbed of their childhood and give them a chance for a new start in life,” said UNICEF Representative for Sri Lanka, Philippe Duamelle.

Earlier this year, former child soldiers and other vulnerable children were trained as cricket Peer Leaders as part of a partnership between the ICC, Sri Lanka Cricket, Bureau of the Commissioner General for Rehabilitation, Cricket for Change and UNICEF.

Beyond the game of cricket, these children also learnt the values of team work, respect and fairplay. Sri Lanka Cricket and UNICEF are now supporting the Peer Leaders to organize cricket games among youth in their communities of origin.

The Videocon IIFA Weekend and the Micromax IIFA Awards is being hosted by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.

Sri Lanka team: Kumara Sangakkara (Captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Aravinda De Silva, Chainthaka Jayasinghe, Upul Chandana, Avishka Gunawardena, D.S. De Silva, Don Arunasiri, Mahesh Gunathilake, Sidath Wettimuni, Ruwan Kalpage, Vinothan John, Akalanka Ganegama, Anusha Samaranayake, Farveez Maharoof, Brendon Kurppu, Neil Nithin Mukesh, Bobby Deol.

IIFA XI team A: Suniel Shetty (Captain), Mahela Jayawardene, Apoorva Lakhia, SonuSood, Dino Morea, Harbajan Singh, Kunal Kapoor, Sreeshanth, Sharman JoshiHarman Baweja, Mahesh Manjrekar, Gulshan Grover, Omi Vaidya, David Dhawan, Vipul Shah, Kunal Kohil, Bunty Walia, Shaan.

IIFA XI team B: Hrithik Roshan (Captain), Lasith Malinga, Rajkumar Hirani, Vinod Kambli, Mohammed Kaif, Aftab Shivdasani, Ritesh Deshmukh, Ajay Jadeja, Arjan Bajwa, Saif Ali Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Irfan Khan, Jackie Bagnani, Goldie Behl, Fardeen Khan, Zayed Khan, Rakeshan OmPrakash Mehra, Suhail Maklai, Kiran More.