New Zealand Gujarati Sports and Cultural Association is hosting a community cricket tournament after 15 years gap this year. The Association works towards bringing together Gujarati Indian diaspora moved to New Zealand from India, Fiji, and other nations by hosting different sports and cultural events to keep them connected to their roots.
The T20 tournament is being held after a decade and a half’s gap, the final of which will be held at Eastdale Reserve in Avondale on Sunday, March 28.
The tournament was postponed from February last month to March due to the third Covid lockdown, which hosted between six teams divided into two pools. After the round-robins and after knockout matches, the final will be played between Flying Arrows (Sports Club) and Nadi (NZ Nadi Gujarati Sports and Cultural Association).
The tournament is supported by Auckland Cricket Association and Auckland Cricket Umpires Association, who have provided necessary help and professional empires for the tournament.
NZ Gujarati Sports and Cultural Association was incorporated in 1995, five years after being run and operated informally as a society.
The Association had Gujarati descent members from Fiji, India, Canada, the United States and worked towards integrating the community as one.
The Association at different intervals hosted sports events such as squash, cricket, football, table tennis and more, but it was football that garnered the most attention from the community and was held regularly every year since the existence of the Association.
In cricket, 80 per cent of the players were from India, and it was the opposite in football, where 80 per cent of players were originating from Fiji.
“The cultural and sports reach within Gujarati community was not only confined to players and participants from Auckland but has had participants from different parts of North and South Island, from overseas such as Fiji, Canada, Australia etc.,” Ritesh Raniga, vice-president of NZ Gujarati Sports and Cultural Association told the Indian Weekender.
“In football, we had 8-14 teams every year, and the number of teams and players fluctuated in this range every year,” Mr Raniga further added.
Regarding cricket this year, the Association received enormous support from Black Caps cricketer Ajaz Patel who also plays in one of the teams in this tournament.
“We are fortunate to have big names associated with our sports events such as Black Cap Ajaz Patel, who too is of Gujarati descent, Harshae Raniga, who has represented New Zealand U17 and U23 of international football matches etc.” Mr Raniga said.
The Association is also hosting its annual Soccer Championship Tournament 2021 over the Easter weekend to be held at Mangere Central Park in Mangere.
“Once this event concludes, the Association will focus on organising other tournaments such as squash, snooker and golf, to name a few, with planning already underway for a major cultural event to be held in late July. These events will be promoted to encourage participation from our youth and ladies to ensure that we reach all of the Gujarati demography,” added Mr Raniga.
“The Association is led by Paresh Parshotam as the president, Rohit Patel and I as vice-president, Sunil Bhikha as Secretary, Jay Patel as Asst. Secretary Anish Patel as Treasurer and Ashok Kapadia as Asst. Treasure,” Mr Raniga said.