I want to take this opportunity and acknowledge the efforts of Mr. Afzal (MAQ) Qureshi and rest of his staff who are organizing the top tournament in the country. It may seem an easy task from outside but I know for sure you got to have a lot of time, passion, heart and resources at stake to make this happen.
I fully understand there are some misunderstandings, difference of opinions and some unacceptable circumstances which divide people in groups, some in favor and some against. I, myself, had some differences in the past but I had to put them behind for the love of the game and betterment of cricket. I have also learned to continue my role to guide, support and bring two parties together. The reality is what Cricket Council USA (CCUSA) has done so far, others have not matched it yet. We should support Maq and try our best to point out any short comings we come across. This approach will only help cricket and I hope CCUSA pays close attention to them.
I also want to acknowledge the great work Mr. Shah Zafar and Praimp Persaud are doing to run the operations of US Open on higher standard. I would also like to see some rules in place by limiting the number of players allowed from outside North America in each team. All the teams will obey the rule once in place.
I built the facility in Pearland (Texas), love to run a professional team but I do not find myself motivated to organize tournaments as it can lead to conflict of interest. No matter how fair someone could be, there will always be some fingers pointed and that is the reason I have decided to support others who are willing to take that role.
This is our 3rd time Smart Choice is participating in US Open. We were blessed to win the very 1st tournament we took part in 2013. We will try our best to give our 100% and entertain the fans and accept the results whatever they could be. There are always 6-8 top teams who can send a team packing in playoffs depending on the given day performance. There is not a single team which can be called favorite in this tournament. We have done our part to put together one of the most balanced squad to compete in this tournament and I request the cricket fans to come and support us.
This will be the first time that a single team will field 4 Associate Captains, Steve Massiah (former USA), Asad Ghous (Current USA), Rizwan Cheema (Canada) and Tanwir Afzal (Hong Kong).
Sakhi Muhammad
Smart Choice – USA
