Cricketer Munaf Patel inaugurates UCCA cricket tournament in Chicago

Asian Media USA

Chicago IL: United Christian Cultural Association [UCCA] kicked-off their 2015 UCCA Cricket Tournament ceremoniously with India’s star Cricketer Munaf Patel serving as the chief guest whose presence clearly ushered palpable enthusiasm among the young cricket teams gathered on Saturday, May 23, 2015 at the Dee Park Cricket Ground in Desplaines, IL.

The crisp sunny Memorial weekend afternoon brought cheers, applause and accolades to India’s star cricketer Munaf Patel as he inaugurated the two-month long thrilling Inter-Church Cricket tournament  setting the tone for an energized beginning to the first match which kicked off to a rousing start.

India’s star former Test/IPL/ODI/World Cup Cricketer Munaf Patel in his brief remarks thanked the UCCA organizers for inviting him and for showcasing a warm welcome on his maiden visit to Chicago. Munaf Patel said he is honored to be at the inaugural ceremony to kick-off the spirited cricket tournament which, he said, would help augur the promotion of cricket in Chicago.  Munaf Patel commended the teams and spent extended period of time taking pictures and talking about the finer elements of the game of cricket to the team captains and members - thus endearing himself to the avid cricket fans.

Keerthi Kumar Ravoori, UCCA Director in his inaugural remarks praised the UCCA leadership for their remarkable efforts in putting together a resolutely competitive cricket tournament complete with festive atmosphere, exciting trophies, cash awards and prizes.  Keerthi Ravoori acknowledged several community leaders present at the inaugural, more notably, recognizing Iftekhar Shareef for facilitating the presence of ace cricketer Munaf Patel at the inaugural ceremony and added it is the goal of UCCA to see a new generation of youth embracing the game of cricket.

Prominent community figure Iftekhar Shareef who was the guest of honor pledged his unstinted support to the cricket tournament and other community-oriented events undertaken by UCCA.  Iftekhar Shareef said cricket is perhaps one of the most potent sports that has intrinsic magical propensity to bring the community youth together and added that he is beginning to see the game of cricket continue to captivate the community’s youth incrementally.

Raju Pasumarthi, UCCA President outlined the vision of the UCCA and said that UCCA is excited to unveil a series of memorable programs that which seeks to bring the community’s youth together and bring out their latent talents in the sportsmanship spirit of competition.  Vasant Charles, Director conducted the inaugural program and said that UCCA has been hosting cricket tournament for the last three years and added that over these years he has seen the passion for cricket among the youth dramatically increased. Vasanth Charles said the tournament matches will be spread across two months and the grand championship finals will be played on August 8, 2015. Vinay Bandikalla, Tournament Co-Chair unveiled the tournament objectives and explained the tournament format.

Shirley Kalvakota presented flower bouquets to Munaf Patel and Iftekhar Shareef. The inaugural ceremony program was hosted with the support of executive board members Emmanuel Neela, Satish Dadepogu & Pravin Neetipudi and joined by community figures who gave brief greetings include Dr. Nandan Thogaru, Surender Charles, Sharath Kalvakota, Babu Varma and Dr. Jaychand Pallekonda. 

For more information on UCCA Cricket Tournament, please contact Raju Pasumarthi Tel: 847-852-9987