New cricket pitch reward for successes for Abu Dhabi Indian School

Having won two of the three finals in the Abu Dhabi inter-school cricket tournament, the Abu Dhabi Indian School cricket team has earned special praise and new facilities from the school administration.

They can now avail part of a multipurpose artificial-turf facility to prepare for the defence of the open age and Under 16 titles when the third staging of the tournament, conducted by the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council, gets under way next month.

"Cricket is the most popular sport among the boys," said SB Dey, the coach and physical education teacher. "The inter-school cricket started only two years ago, but traditionally we have done well in all other sports, like in athletics, swimming, badminton and table tennis, particularly in the CBSE All India national competitions every year."

The school upgraded the sporting facilities in the summer with the artificial turf and a synthetic athletic track.

The Abu Dhabi Indian School is one of the oldest institutions in the country and has more than 5,500 students enrolled. They made their mark in last season's Abu Dhabi inter-school cricket tournament by winning both the Under 16 and the open age division. They were runners-up in the U14 to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Arab Pakistan School.

"Reaching all three finals and winning two of them is a good achievement, but more important was for the students to play for the school team," Dey said.

"Sport is now an integral part of the all-round development of the students, and it's important we provide them with good facilities. Nowadays, when students go for higher education or to entrance to the universities abroad, they look at the co-curricular activities of the students. So playing cricket or to excel in any other sport holds a definite advantage."

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