Sohni Dharti braces to host fresh season of T20 cricket

With the end of summer in sight, the much-awaited season of cricket and savoury street food is returning. The members of Pakistani expatriate community, living in Al Khor, are organising a four-month-long season of Twenty20 cricket starting October.
Sohni Dharti, the oldest and biggest community forum of Pakistani expatriates living in Al Khor, will begin its flagship cricket tournament, Pakistan Cricket League (PCL), which is designed over the format of Pakistan Super League (PSL) T20, in the coming month and will be played over four months.
The league matches will start from the first Saturday of October and will be played between the six teams of the tournament on every Saturday of the month. The semi-finals and the grand finale will be held in January, Anwar Ali Rana, the chairman of Sohni Dharti Al Khor, told Community in a chat.
Five teams in the tournament will be named after the five PSL franchises representing the five capital cities of Pakistan with an addition of Gilgit Elevators. To spice up the cricketing season, Sohni Dharti, in the first week of November, is also organising ‘Pakistan Evening’, bringing street food, cultural shows and music to Qatar. “It will be an evening full of performances representing different cultures in Pakistan. The shows will be performed by children. The audience will be treated with traditional Pakistani food from different regions of the country,” said Rana.
The Al Khor community last month celebrated the Independence Day of Pakistan in its signature style with a grand ceremony. Children of all age groups participated with great enthusiasm. More than 400 Pakistanis attended the show. The well-organised show attracted a large audience and lasted for more than two hours. The programme was opened by Anwar Ali Rana, who welcomed the guests and audience.
“Sohni Dharti is one of the prominent forums of Pakistanis in Qatar. Talented children have presented a fabulous show with a series of colourful performances,” said Rana. The theme of the show was Mairi Pehchan Pakistan (My identity is Pakistan).
It started with show hosts introducing the theme of the event. Abdullah Manzar, Ali Abid, Habiba Atif, Laiba Eman, Aimen Naeem, Eishal Mariam, Haya Fatima, Reda Ahmad, Eman Ahmad, Abbas Samo, Ifra Afzaal, Minahil Naeem, Syeda Asra Akhtar, Manahil Atif, Dua Zahra, Tooba Ahmad, Rimsha Liaqat, Aima Amjad, Ayesha Shafqat, Areeha Mariam, Ayesha Rana, Abdul Rafay, Shamza Naveen, Kiswal Ali, Afifa Abid and Romaisa Ali played host in this fabulous show.
Shamaim Afreen was invited for the recitation of the Holy Qur’an and Anfal Anwar Rana was invited for Naat. The first performance, prepared by Naeem Anwar Qazi, garnered applause from the audience.
Children came attired in cultural outfits. Another beautiful performance was presented by Abid Hussain where the children showcased a mix of action and drama.
Last year, Hussain presented one of the most popular performances which got more than 100,000 views on social media. Prominent community member Badar Sohail addressed the audience and appreciated the performance of children.
The third performance spearheaded by Ghulam Mujtaba Balloch was presented where children appeared with Pakistani flags and were dressed in green and white colour. It was one of the best performances presented on Sohni Dharti platform.
The president of Pakistan Welfare Forum (PWF-Qatar) Riyaz Ahmad Bakkali addressed the gathering and explained the activities of PWF. The next performance was presented by Sibghat Samo where more than 20 children participated in the performance.
At the conclusion, prizes were distributed by Ch Ajmal, Ch Tahir, Malik Liaqat along with Sohni Dharti executive committee members Rana Anwar Ali, Liaqat Ali, Sabir Hussain, Ch Shafqat, Zeeshan Abbasi, Shahid Nadeem, Nadeem Khawar and Ghulam Mujtaba Balloch.
Defence Attaché from Pakistan embassy Irfan Taj attended the event with his family and appreciated the wonderful performance by children. Children presented a well-prepared parade to end the event.
The main objectives of the Sohni Dharti are to promote cultural, social and sports activities for residents of Al Khor community, develop the talents of Pakistani children in education, culture and sports, contribute in welfare and development of the community, especially to promote the preservation of environment of community and surroundings and integrate Pakistani people with other nationalities of Al Khor community.