Cricket in Mardan

Cricket is one of the popular sports in Mardan. It is played in almost all the small villages of Mardan Division. The children start playing cricket in schools, streets and even inside their houses. Due to the lack of resources and the lack of government grants there is no organised structure for sports in Mardan. And because of the less involvement of sports ministry, there is no quality cricket ground in Mardan where an international tournament can be staged.

Despite these problems Mardan has produced some very talented players. Those who are worth mentioning are: Younis Khan, Sajid Shah, Ahmad Said, Mohammad Amin, Adnan Raees, Sajjad Ali, Jawad Ghani, Kaleem ur Rahman, Nabiullah and Mohammad Haroon. Younis Khan is one of the top batsmen in the world. The others were close to play for national team and some have played club cricket in England.

The cricket activities are run by a local association, The Mardan District Cricket Association (DCA).This was registered with Pakistan Cricket Board in 1978.It has been trying hard to arrange league and knockout cricket tournaments on yearly basis. It also participates in Patrons trophy and other national championship matches in the country. The office holders of the association are elected every 4 years. Due to the efforts of the association, a team from Delhi, India visited Mardan and played a match against the local team. The efforts of the late president of DCA, Dr. Tariq Mahmood are worth remembering. He invited the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board, Mr Shahar Yar Khan twice to help DCA.

There is a lot of work still needed to promote and develop cricket in Mardan. The most important task for the authorities now is to provide an international standard Stadium where cricket and other sports can blossom.

For more cricket,please visit www.mardancricket.com