After a fantabulous eight weeks exploring USA and Canada, I was back in Singapore in time for school opening. In the middle of house renovation wasn't a good time to take off for Sri Lanka, but I had planned this way in advance as Bhammer brothers were organizing this mini IPL here. Against all odds, Sandeep had worked tirelessly to make this event happen and I had to come to support him.
Even though the crowds were conspicuous by their absence in th league matches, the production quality was fantastic and one couldn't say it was being organized the first time. Given all the main sponsors were essentially Indian companies, it was just like IPL with the Indian players being replaced by Pakistani ones. There were quite a few international stars and they played some really good quality cricket. In all, a fantastic first year, and no doubt this will scale new heights in forth coming years. I had a new level of respect for the organizers after closely watching how much effort goes into organizing some thing at this scale.
My parents flew in from india, and it was exciting for them to watch the matches from the VIP boxes. I got to meet some of the international cricketers after the matches which was exciting for me. This turned out to be a great highlight of the trip, as unfortunately the city didn't have much else to offer. Battling the local traffic congestion in rain to reach a barely maintained Gangaramya temple or the national museum wasn't worth the effort. If they are serious about promoting tourism here, it's difficult to find any impact just yet in Colombo.
Even though the crowds were conspicuous by their absence in th league matches, the production quality was fantastic and one couldn't say it was being organized the first time. Given all the main sponsors were essentially Indian companies, it was just like IPL with the Indian players being replaced by Pakistani ones. There were quite a few international stars and they played some really good quality cricket. In all, a fantastic first year, and no doubt this will scale new heights in forth coming years. I had a new level of respect for the organizers after closely watching how much effort goes into organizing some thing at this scale.
My parents flew in from india, and it was exciting for them to watch the matches from the VIP boxes. I got to meet some of the international cricketers after the matches which was exciting for me. This turned out to be a great highlight of the trip, as unfortunately the city didn't have much else to offer. Battling the local traffic congestion in rain to reach a barely maintained Gangaramya temple or the national museum wasn't worth the effort. If they are serious about promoting tourism here, it's difficult to find any impact just yet in Colombo.
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