The Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Dr Ishrat Hussain, inaugurated the newly constructed Cricket Pavilion at the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) Sports Complex here on Sunday. The SBP Governor while addressing the select gathering stated that NBP President Syed Ali Raza, should make the facilities available to the school-going children, college and university students of the area instead of keeping only the NBP sportsmen and employees.
Recalling his days as a student, Dr, Ishrat Hussain said the cricket matches played between Sindh Madressa and St. Patrick's High School use to draw huge throngs of people. Those matches produced Test cricketers like little Master Hanif Mohammad, Ikram Elahi and Wallis Mathias.
But sadly speaking that culture is missing today as the schools of city have no grounds of their own.
Likewise, Dr Ishrat Hussain recalled the matches played Government College Lahore and Aitchison College but those fixtures are also now without the element spectator interest.
Dr Ishrat Hussain added he has no objection to the Banks organising sports teams and the building grounds because in today's world sports and culture go hand and glove with each other and it is the corporate responsibility of the institutions to give back to the people from the enormous profits that they earn.
The SBP Governor further stated that what he would like the corporate institutions to doi s come forward with huge sponsorship schemes to promote sports and culture in a big way because that helps in nation-building.
NBP President Syed Ali Raza, said that in building sports facilities and employing sportsmen he s only giving back to the people as a good corporate institution what the banks earn from the people and that he would continue to do so in the future as well.
Syed Ali Raza was also full of praise for his other Board of Directors especially Sikandar Jamali, Dr Waqar Mansoor and Jamil Gull for their tremendous hardwork and inputs to bring the state-of-the-art facility to fruition.
In addition, he also singled out the efforts of former Test cricketer Iqbal Qasim, who is In-charge of the NBP Sports Department.
Also to have spoken on the occasion were Sindh Chief Secretary Aslam Sanjarani, Dr Waqar Masood and Sikandar Jamali.
Prominent among those to have graced the occasion were Chairman of Cricket Selectors Wasim Bari, former Test cricketers Sallahuddin, Haroon Rashid, Abdul Raquib and Jalaluddin, and Mansoor H. Khan, President and CEO of Pak Saudi Bank.
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