Wills International Cup countdown (6 October 1998)

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the Wills International Cup Cricket in a simple ceremony on October 24

06-Oct-1998

6 October 1998

Wills International Cup countdown

By Zahid Newaz in Dhaka

The latest news in the buildup to the Wills International Cup, with 18 days remaining till the start:

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the Wills International Cup Cricket in a simple ceremony on October 24. Hasina herself is known as a cricket fan. She will inaugurate the tourney at the stadium named after her assassinated father and country's independence leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Pakistan World Cup Champions team captain Imran Khan is expected to join the former veterans congregation to be present in Dhaka during the first-ever knock out world cup tourney. He will be accompanied by his wife Jemima Khan. Imran is considered as most popular cricketer in Bangladesh. However, another popular cricketer Sunil Gavaskar is not coming.

Zimbabwe will be first team to arrive Dhaka for the biggest cricketing event to be staged in Bangladesh. They are expected to reach on October 17. The following day, England and New Zealand teams are expected. Bangladesh will play two one-day against two of the three test-playing teams.

South African expert Phil Russell is again expected in Bangladesh next week to watch the last minute condition of the wickets. Local organisers wished to keep him in Dhaka until the tournament is ended on November 2.

Bangabandhu National Stadium will accommodate 35,727 crowd for a match of the Wills Cup. But there will be no seat number for 30,000 ordinary spectators in the gallery.

Finance Minister Shah AMS Kibria will inaugurate the newly installed floodlight and electronic scoreboard at Bangabandhu Stadium on October 12. The inaugural will be followed by a practice match also be witnessed by Event Manager Asif Iqbal. All the matches of the Wills Cup will be day-night.

Bangladesh has taken the mini-world cup as an opportunity for promoting tourism. For the purpose, country's thousand-year old culture and tourist places will be highlighted in electronic media throughout the tournament.

Source :: CricInfo365