The Sri Lankan edition of the press conference for the One World One Family Cup 2025, a special charity T20 cricket match, was held today (29th January) in Colombo.
The event was chaired by former Sri Lankan cricket captain Aravinda de Silva, along with Menaka Athukorala, Managing Director and CEO of Hatton Plantations PLC, and Gowri Shankar, Managing Director and CEO of G&G Group of Companies.
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In his opening remarks, Gowri Shankar emphasised the deeper purpose of the event, stating, “With the guidance and philosophy of Sri Madhusudan Sai, this exceptional event showcases the unifying power of cricket while raising awareness for the transformative humanitarian work of the Sri Madhusudan Sai Global Humanitarian Mission (SMSGHM).”
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Aravinda de Silva, a key figure in Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup-winning team, elaborated on the theme of this year’s match—‘Cricket for a Cause’, explaining that, “This year, legendary players from India and Sri Lanka will come together not as competitors, but as ambassadors championing the impactful work of SMSGHM. Through this match, we aim to support education, healthcare, and nutrition for underserved communities.”
A Mission Beyond Cricket
During the conference, the speakers highlighted the humanitarian efforts of SMSGHM, which has touched millions of lives in India and across 80 countries worldwide. The core areas of focus include:
- Education: Providing values-based, free education to 3,700 rural children, from Grade 6 to university and doctoral studies.
- Healthcare: Operating super-speciality hospitals, building the world’s largest free hospital, and India’s first free rural medical college, delivering high-quality healthcare at no charge to over 3.1 million patients
- Nutrition: Serving free morning nutrition to over 10 million children across 100,000 schools in India, improving both health and learning outcomes.
Speaking about the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Super Speciality Hospital in Batticaloa, which is part of SMSGHM, Menaka Athukorala shared that, “With over 2,200 free heart Cath interventions performed, this hospital continues to provide life-saving care to those in need. A newly opened ICU wing has further enhanced its capacity to serve more patients.”
Cricket Legends Unite for a Cause
The One World One Family Cup 2025 brings together iconic cricketers from India and Sri Lanka, competing for a shared cause. The match will take place on:
Date: Saturday, 8 February 2025
Venue: Sai Krishnan Cricket Stadium, Sathya Sai Grama, Muddenahalli, Karnataka, India
It will feature cricketing greats from both nations. Confirmed players include:
Sri Lanka Legends (One Family): Aravinda De Silva, Arjuna Ranathunga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thisara Perera, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Ajantha Mendis, Ravindra Pushpakumara, Asela Gunaratne, Milinda Siriwardana, Tharanga Paranavitana, Nuwan Zoysa, Thilina Thushara, Marvan Atapattu, and Romesh Kaluwitharana.
India Legends (One World): Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, S. Badrinath, Naman Ojha, Piyush Chawla, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ashok Dinda, Venkatesh Prasad, Sunil Joshi, Parthiv Patel, Manoj Tiwari, and Sujith Somasundar
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