A record 15 players "are involved in the partnership between the elite training academy and the Hong Kong Cricket Association," according to Nazvi Careem of the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. The city's elite cricketers "were given a major boost" on Sunday when the governing body announced renewed support from the Hong Kong Sports Institute for another year, with a record 15 players receiving scholarships.
Captain Tanwir Afzal said, "This really helps a lot." The squad became eligible for the HKSI Individual Athletes Support Scheme "after qualifying for the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 in India, though they failed to reach the second round." The scholarships are estimated to be worth more than HK$2.6M ($335,000) for one year.
According to the Int'l Cricket Council website, Hong Kong is ranked 14th in the world in T20 -- making it the city’s "highest-ranked sports team." The scheme "offers a monthly grant to team members, use of HKSI facilities and various athlete development programmes."
HKCA Dir of Cricket Charlie Burke said, "The support is vital in our quest to prepare as well as we possibly can for the World Cup Qualifiers and Asian Games in 2018" (SCMP, 4/11).
