Landmark legends to spice up Dubai Super Sixes

Aravinda and former Pakistan all-rounder Wasim Akram, the brand ambassador of this tournament, will be the star attraction in the Landmark Group Team of Legends, announced by the organisers on Wednesday.

The former Sri Lanka vice-captain will be joined by his 1996 World Cup winning team mate Roshan Mahanama and former Indian stars Vinod Kambli and Venkatesh Prasad together with former South African all-rounder Lance Klusener for October 1 to 15 event.

Former Pakistan wicket-keeper batsman Moin Khan and Rohan Gavaskar join these legends of the game who will each be assigned to each team which enters the quarter-finals of this corporate tournament being held in the Middle East for the first time.

“Most cricket fans dream of playing with their heroes. This is what Dubai Super Sixes is offering. It gives you the opportunity to play alongside a legend like Wasim Akram or Aravinda de Silva. That’s really the core of this tournament,” said Atul Hegde, chief executive officer of Ignite Sport Dubai who is the brain behind this unique corporate tournament.

On the criteria behind selecting these eight players instead of having current or recently retired players, Hegde said: “They needed to be of a certain stature and needed to fit the five-over fast format. More importantly we really needed personalities who could mix up with the fans.”

Unlike the Hong Kong Sixes which is about international cricketers coming together, the Super Sixes is about taking the game to the people, according to Hegde. “The whole concept has been borne out of that. Purely focusing on the fans, for all of us who wanted to be playing at higher level here’s an opportunity to do that,” he said.

“It has been a huge success since it was launched in India three years ago. The first tournament had 64 teams and played in two cities. Dubai is the first venue out of India. But the kind of response we’ve got here has really set a high benchmark as we move the format into different countries,” said Hegde who plans to hold Super Sixes in Qatar, Singapore and Malaysia in the near future.

“When we brought the tournament to Dubai, we needed a Dubai iconic brand to support it. I’m proud we have somebody like Landmark Group supporting it,” said Hegde.

Landmark Group CEO Vipin Sethi said they were delighted to provide the teams that clear the preliminary rounds an opportunity to play alongside renowned cricketing legends.

“We believe that the Dubai Super Sixes format is short, sweet and will contribute to the corporate entities coming together. The endorsement of event by international cricket icons has also made it more credible. We are confident it will add to the tournament’s appeal and we are privileged to sponsor this event,” said Sethi.

This is the first sporting venture by the $3.8 billion retail and hospitality conglomerate. “It is a celebration of team spirit and hard work. We hope it will become a regular event. We look forward to an exciting fortnight and hope that the tournament is played in the right spirit of sportsmanship and reflect the passion we feel for the sport,” added Sethi.

“We are excited that such an impressive line-up of cricketing legends have joined this six-a-side tournament in our first ever attempt itself,” said Arshad Zaheer, managing director of Crayons Communications, organisers of the event to be held under the auspices of the Dubai Cricket Council.

With total prize money of Dh100,000 to be given away, the Dubai Super Sixes will see 48 corporate teams vying in three groups of 16 each on a knockout format. The top two from each group will be joined by two wildcard teams in the quarter-finals where the international stars will be drawn at random to assist the quarter-finalists as mentor and player.