A World’s First: More than 110,000 Young Pakistanis Participate in Jazz Rising Stars

‘Dunya Ko Bataa Do’ is a pledge that Jazz has taken to provide the right platforms and opportunities to the Pakistani youth for them to achieve success. With this quest, Jazz moves forward to create the next generation of cricketing stars for Pakistan. After collaborating in the inaugural edition of the successful Pakistan Super League, Jazz and Lahore Qalandars present Jazz Rising Stars – a one of its kind initiative which aims to find the hidden cricketing talent, provide them a platform and equip them with the right resources to shine.

As part of the initiative, cricket trial camps were set up in eight districts of Punjab where Aaqib Javed and Mudassar Nazar selected the best cricket talent for each district. A total of 111,553 contestants participated in the trials. Players from each district have been shortlisted to represent their districts in Jazz Rising Stars T20 Cup. The tournament will begin at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on September 24, 2016 with the final to be held on October 1, 2016.

While the tournament will be televised on Geo Super in its entirety, for live spectators entry would be free of cost. Four lucky spectators per day will leave the stadium with a brand new Jazz X handset courtesy of a lucky draw. For those who feel this still is not enough, there is an additional incentive that should they take a catch, they will be going home with a cash prize of PKR 10,000/- as well.

Talking about the initiative, Asif Aziz, CCO, Mobilink said: “We are a cricket crazy nation. Cricket is not just a sport for us, it is more like a religion. Jazz being Pakistan’s No.1 network, speaks the language of the nation and knows what they love. We’re committed to supporting and nurturing the sport in the country. Our aim is to help bring International Cricket back to the country and we’ll keep working towards that.”

Shahbaz Maqsood Khan, Director Marketing said: “Pakistan has prolific talent, but unfortunately our youth lack platforms and opportunities capable of enabling them to further their careers. Jazz Rising Stars however provides the perfect opportunity for our prodigious talent to showcase their abilities and prove their mettle on an international level.”

Select players will qualify for the next phase of the competition based off their performance in the Jazz Rising Stars T20 Cup in Gaddafi Stadium. These players will be afforded the once in a lifetime opportunity to travel all the way to Australia to engage with and learn from the current reigning Big Bash League Champions 2016, the Sydney Thunders. The culmination of the Jazz Rising Stars will see us select the final two, one batsman and one bowler, to represent the Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League 2017.