Mobilink Hunt for Heroes held in Peshawar, Lahore and Multan

Islamabad, October 31, 2008 – Around 1,500 cricket enthusiasts participated at the Mobilink Hunt for Heroes sessions held simultaneously in Lahore, Multan and Peshawar organized by Mobilink, the country’s market leader in cellular communication services with 30 million customers and part of Orascom Telecom, in association with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). After a rigorous ten-day exercise including trainings from PCB coaches and practice matches, 15 players were short listed each for Multan and Peshawar regions and 20 players from Lahore.

Commenting on the participants at the Multan Stadium, Colonel Mansoor, Regional Director (Multan), PCB, shared, “The enthusiasm of these youngsters is overwhelming. There is no dearth of talent in the country and we are grateful to Mobilink for collaborating with us to uncover it from every nook and corner of the country.”

According to Khurram Mahboob, Brand Manager Strategic Initiatives at Mobilink, “We all have at one point fantasized about playing professional cricket and Mobilink Hunt for Heroes gives thousands of cricket enthusiasts the opportunity to realize this dream. The primary objective of this first-of-its-kind program is to produce well-rounded, physically fit and skilled players to represent Pakistan at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.”

Similar trials were also conducted for cricket enthusiasts in Batgram, Bostan, Charsadda, Dera Allayar, Dera Mohammad Jamali, Hakalzai, Huramzai, Jafferabad, Jhal Magsi, Karbal, Khanozai, Kohistan, Mansehra, Mirpurkhas, Mithi (Tharparkar), Naseerabad, NausheroFeroz, Nawabshah, Nowshera, Pishin, Sanghar, Umerkot and Ziarat simultaneously. Open trials of the Mobilink Hunt for Heroes will be conducted in Burewala, Gawadar, Kohat, Peshawar, Shikarpur, Sialkot, Sibi, Sukkur and Swat from 4th November, 2008 and will also be conducted for Faisalabad, Multan, Rawalpindi, Sialkot and FATA regions in coming months.

After the first phase, these youngsters will be divided into twelve regional teams who will fight for the top honors in the “Mobilink Hunt for Heroes Tournament 2008-09”. Phase II will comprise of six weeks of physical training and tactical awareness of the final thirty-six short-listed youngsters at the prestigious National Cricket Academy in Lahore.

Designed to find exceptional talent from all parts of the country including the remote and far flung areas with the help of specialized PCB coaches, Mobilink Hunt for Heroes Cricket program attracted over 12,000 young and budding cricketers from 52 districts throughout Pakistan last year. The entire squad of the Pakistan Juniors Under-15 team that played in the Under-15 tournament in the West Indies has been unearthed by Mobilink Hunt for Heroes.