Pakistan dedicates first match at Gwadar cricket stadium to Ali Sadpara

GWADAR CITY – The picturesque cricket stadium in the port city of Gwadar is hosting an exhibition match today for the first time and the maiden match is dedicated to the late Pakistani climber Ali Sadpara, who was declared dead by family on Thursday days after he went missing on K2 - the 'Savage Mountain'.

The exhibition match has been organised by Fakhr-e-Alam in the lush sports venue of Gwadar amidst the mountains of Balochistan.

Prime Minister Imran Khan shared the news on social media, he wrote the first-ever cricket match being held at Gwadar cricket stadium, the match was dedicated to Muhammad Ali Sadpara. The premier also put #CricketAtGwadar in the caption.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis, Zulfi Bukhari also tweets about the development. Bukhari wrote dedicating the 1st ever match at Gwadar Stadium to Pakistan’s son #MuhammadAliSadpara. The match tomorrow will start with a prayer in his memory. This is the beauty of our land; even our loss unites us from K2 to Gwadar to Quetta.

Dedicating the 1st ever match at Gwadar Stadium to Pakistan’s son #MuhammadAliSadpara. The match tomorrow will start with a prayer in his memory.
This is the beauty of our land, even our loss unites us ..from K2 to Gwadar to Quetta.#CricketAtGwadar pic.twitter.com/FIyFP3tZhm

— Sayed Z Bukhari (@sayedzbukhari) February 18, 2021

Prayers were held for Ali Sadpara and the other two foreign climbers before the starting of the match.

Dua for #AliSadpara at Gwadar Cricket Stadium #CricketAtGwadar pic.twitter.com/r8tY6yFVO0

— Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis & HRD (@mophrd) February 19, 2021

The match features two teams Showbiz Sharks and the Gwadar Dolphins. British High Commissioner to Pakistan Christian Turner presided over the coin toss at the stadium.

Pakistan Cricket Board PCB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Waseem Khan is the captain of Showbiz Sharks and other players include Fakhr-e-Alam, Faysal Qureishi, Ali Zafar, Saleem Sheikh, Aijaz Aslam, Shehzad Roy, Sami Khan, Kamran Jeelani, Salman Saeed, Ali Safina, and Noman Habib.

On the other hand, the Gwadar Dolphins include local players and politicians including Zulfi Bukhari, Ali Zaidi, and GOC Gwadar.

The beautiful Gwadar cricket stadium #CricketAtGwadar @ICC @ICCMediaComms pic.twitter.com/59UBGDsn1N

— Daily Pakistan (@DailyPakistan) February 19, 2021

Earlier on February 1, the picturesque cricket stadium in the port city of Gwadar has all eyes on it, including International Cricket Council's (ICC). Being in awe of its beauty, the ICC shared photo of the cricket stadium, challenging people if they have seen “a more picturesque sports venue”.

Who is Ali Sadpara?

Ali Sadpara and two others who went missing earlier this month while attempting to scale the world's second-highest mountain have been officially declared dead.

He is the only Pakistani to have climbed eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, and he made the first ever winter ascent of the world's ninth highest peak, Nanga Parbat.

On Friday 5 February, he went missing along with two others - Iceland's John Snorri and Chile's Juan Pablo Mohr - while trying to climb K2, the world's second highest peak at 8,611m (28,251 ft) and also reputedly the deadliest.

His son Sajid was also a member of the team and the idea was for the father-and-son duo to summit K2 without oxygen, a feat never done before in winter. But Sajid had to turn back from a spot called the Bottleneck - also known as the "death zone", some 300 metres from the top - after he felt sick.

Afterwards, he helped military-led rescue teams scour the mountain for signs of his father and the other two men.

On Thursday, the search was officially called off - and all three climbers declared dead.