Chamari Athapaththu endorses all-girls VIMAN Street Cricket Cup

Officials of invited schools and JKP.Pic by Kithsiri De Mel 

By Pranavesh Sivakumar 
The VIMAN Street Cricket Cup tournament, endorsed by Chamari Athapaththu, is set to kickoff on 2 February, providing a platform to showcase girls’ cricket. 
The event, done in partnership with the national women’s team’s captain, was launched on Monday (21) in Colombo. 
The tournament will feature over eight girl schools from various parts of the island in the U16 and U19 age groups. It will be played in the former K Zone shopping property, Ja-Ela.
Organised by the John Keells Properties (JKP) VIMAN project, the initiative aims to empower the country’s youth, particularly young women through sports and community initiatives. The key objective is to foster women’s cricket at the grassroot level across the island nation. 
Athapaththu, absent at the event due to cricketing commitment in New Zealand, said in her video message: “As the captain of the Sri Lanka Women’s team, I feel a profound responsibility to empower and nurture the next generation of women cricketers across the country. I firmly believe that the most impactful way to achieve this is by identifying young, talented girls passionate about the sport and creating opportunities for them to thrive, excel and grow into their fullest potential”.
“It is with immense pride and joy that I have partnered with JKP to launch the VIMAN Street Cricket Cup – an inspiring initiative designed to unearth hidden talent, provide young girls with a platform to showcase their skills, and their dreams of representing Sri Lanka on the global stage,” she added.  
Athapaththu was actively involved in selecting the list of schools to participate at the upcoming tournament. 
“This project was born when and where we thought of empowering women’s cricket. Bringing women’s cricket to the forefront. That’s when we started the discussion with Chamari Athapaththu, about 3-4 months ago. She was very keen to move forward and support this initiative,” Nadeem Shums, Head of Sales and Marketing at JKP told at the launch event. 
Confirmed schools: Newstead Girls College, Anula Vidyalaya, Ave Maria Convent, Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Rathnavali Balika Vidyalaya, Lyceum International School Gampaha, Bandarawatta Parakrama M. V., Nenamal Royal College.