Tuesday, Feb 21, 2017

Dubai: Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi launched the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 Nissan Trophy global Tour in the presence of local school teams, cricket fans, ICC Academy coaches and ICC staff at the ICC Academy.

With 100 days to go for the start of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, which will be played in England and Wales from the June 1 to the 18. The event features the top eight one-day teams in the world.

Afridi, addressing the gathering, said: “I want to thank the ICC and its sponsors for their support of cricket. By taking the Champions Trophy on a global tour, they’re enabling fans to connect with the event regardless of where they live and, hopefully, help us build a new generation of fans.”

The idea behind the tour is to bring the excitement of the ICC Champions Trophy closer to cricket fans around the world before it arrives in England at the start of the summer. As global partner and official car of the ICC, Nissan will be transporting the ICC Champions Trophy in official vehicles on the ground in major cities.

The trophy will visit all the competing nations in the next 100 days, heading to India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan in March before flying to South Africa, New Zealand and Australia in April. The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 Nissan Trophy Tour will culminate in a series of events across host cities in England and Wales in May, before the opening game between England and Bangladesh at The Oval on June 1.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson remarked: “The global trophy tour is the start of what will be a fantastic summer of cricket celebration in the UK with two major back-to-back events — the ICC Champions Trophy followed by the ICC Women’s World Cup. We are confident that the ICC Champions Trophy will be as competitive and thrilling as preceding editions, bringing together some of the finest 50-over cricketers in a short and sharp event in which every match counts.”

Roel de Vries, Nissan Corporate Vice-President and Global Head of Marketing, said: “We partnered with the ICC to bring cricket fans closer to the excitement of the game. We want the Nissan Trophy Tour to build excitement and anticipation on the journey towards the ICC Champions Trophy tournament in the UK in June.”

By K.R. Nayar Chief Cricket Writer

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