Kinrara Oval was the centre of global attention of the 
cricket world for ten days in June. From the 1st to the 10th of June, 6 top women’s cricket teams, namely India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand and hosts Malaysia to battle it out to be crowned the champions of Asia.
Commenting on the level of coverage the President of the Malaysia Cricket Association, Mahinda Valipuram “The event was broadcast live on Star Sports and received extensive news coverage on the BBC, and national news networks Indian, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, including RTM in Malaysia. This is not the first time that we have had high level cricket played in Kinrara Oval but it is the first time we were able to highlight the women’s game to a global audience.”
“Malaysia is a perfect venue for international sporting events, for cricket we have Kinrara Oval which is a world class venue, it allows us to attract this level of tournaments to the country. We now need to partner with more local businesses to benefit from the increase in overseas arrivals.” concluded Mahinda who is also a board member of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The recent finals were attended by over 5,000 spectators from international destinations, representing an untapped market for local business.
The ACC Women’s Asia Cup has added further impetus to the already fast growing franchise that women’s cricket has become and is aligned with the global strategy for cricket. “The ACC Women’s Asia Cup is the premiere women’s cricket tournament in the region, we congratulate the Malaysia Cricket Association for the successful hosting of the event. Malaysia continues to hold its position as a leading cricket destination outside of the test playing nations, made possible in no small part by facilities like Kinrara Oval. We thank the Malaysian government for their ongoing support of cricket in Malaysia and look forward to witnessing the further growth of women’s game in Malaysia.” Thusith Pereira General Manager, Asian Cricket Council
The Vice President of the Malaysian Cricket Association, Nordin Abdullah moderated two panel sessions during the Gala Dinner. The first panel which focused on the future of women’s cricket in the global context. The panellist comprised of leading young cricketers Jaharana Alam, Smirthi Mandana, Sasikala Siriwerdenae, Winifred Anne Duraisingam and Sornarin Tippoch.
The second panel comprised Mithral Raj, Sana Mir and Nor Shilah, a former Olympian from Malaysia. The theme of the second panel was around women empowerment and how to overcome challenges faced by women athletes.
Nordin Abdullah who is also the Organising Chairman of Tomorrow’s Leaders Summit commented “it was an honour to have moderated both sessions, I have interviewed many Presidents, Prime Ministers and leading sportsmen but these sessions stand out for the simple reason that these young ladies were able to conduct themselves so well in front of a large audience, speaking about a wide range of topics.”
Present during the dinner was, H.E. Md. Shahidul Islam, Bangladesh High Commissioner and H.E. Shri Mridul Kumar, Indian High Commissioner both accompanied by their wives, Datuk Paduka Mumtaz, Vice President of Olympic Committee Malaysia and chair of the women’s development committee together with Prof. Dato’ Dr. Shamala Subramaniam, ACC was represented at the dinner by Sultan Rana, Manager Events and Operations.
Bangladesh went on to become champions winning the final on the last ball Jaharana Alam scored two runs to take the Bangladeshi women’s team past the total of the India women’s team, completing a fairy-tale victory and becoming the first team apart from India to raise the ACC Women’s Asia Cup.
