Cricket: Kenya U-19 team lands new sponsor
What you need to know:
- The deal unveiled on Thursday at Cricket Kenya (CK) offices at Ruaraka Sports Club in Nairobi is to the tune of Sh4.2 million
- Star Discover Insurance CEO and Principal Officer Jonah Tomno said they are delighted to partner with CK in developing cricket in the country
- CK Development Director Thomas Odoyo said trials to recruit new players in the team began last week and will be conducted countrywide
Kenya national cricket under-19 men’s team has received a financial boost from Star Discover Insurance to compete in the upcoming tri-nation tournament in Uganda.
The deal unveiled on Thursday at Cricket Kenya (CK) offices at Ruaraka Sports Club in Nairobi is to the tune of Sh4.2 million.
Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda are the teams that will feature in the tournament set for March 27 to April 1 in Jinja.
CK Chief Executive Officer Ronald Bukusi was grateful to Star Discover Insurance for agreeing to sponsor the team for the tour.
He hoped that it would encourage more corporates to partner with CK in their quest to revive Kenya’s cricket.
“We are extremely grateful to Star Insurance for the support and partnership that they have rendered to us,” said Bukusi in a joint press-briefing with the Star Discover Insurance officials at the federation’s office. “We are looking at this partnership from three basic angles, where one, we want to revive our cricket at a lower level. Hopefully, this tour will generate much more excitement from the youngsters and inspire them to play better.”
“We are also welcoming back the corporate world to our industry. We have had a lot of challenges in the past and one of the things that happened is that the corporate world took off. I hope that by other corporates seeing Star Insurance coming to support us, more will come and talk to us.”
Star Discover Insurance CEO and Principal Officer Jonah Tomno said they are delighted to partner with CK in developing cricket in the country.
“Sports play a critical role in the development of any society and that is why as a corporate entity, we feel quite proud and honour to partner with you to develop this sport in this country,” said Tomno.
“We would like to wish the team all the best. We pray that when they go to Uganda, they will be victorious and come back having carried the Kenyan flag high,” he added.
Head of Medical at Star Discover Insurance Limited Johari Maluki said:
“We are excited about this partnership to be part of the revival of cricket in Kenya and we think this coming together of the two entities is truly a big step forward.”
Out of the 16 players, who represented Kenya in the 2024 International Cricket Council (ICC) Under-19 Men’s World Cup, Africa Division One Qualifier in Dar-es-Salaam, only four players are still eligible to play in the team.
They are; wicket keeper Yash Gohil, batsman Stian Smith, medium pace bowler and batsman Neel Doshi and Yuvraj Bhatyani.
Kenya finished second in the tournament behind Namibia.
CK Development Director Thomas Odoyo said trials to recruit new players in the team began last week and will be conducted countrywide.
