This year, amidst the many challenges that have arisen around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Red Bull has defied the odds and taken the necessary health and safety precautions to ensure a true sporting tradition lives on. As such, Red Bull has once more hosted the ninth edition of Red Bull Campus Cricket (RBCC), giving young, aspiring sportsmen the ideal opportunity to represent their campus and country on an international field.
The tournament has seen the participation of 12 college-level Sri Lankan teams, namely Central Campus Colombo, Kotelawala Defense University (KDU), ESOFT, Royal Institute of Colombo, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, Imperial College, Sri Lanka Institute of Management, SAEGIS, ICON Business School, Sri Lanka Technological Campus, ACBT, and ICBT Campus.
In a highly unanticipated twist, the semifinals saw two teams who are new to the RBCC playing field emerge victorious. CCC and Imperial College battled it out at the BRC grounds in an exciting final match the following day. Imperial College took the trophy home, winning by 1 wicket.
The Man of the Series was Chamindu Wijesinghe from CCC, with a total of 42 runs and 9 wickets under his belt. Ayesh Harshana from the winning team, Imperial College, was another star player, who scored 11 runs and took 9 wickets throughout the tournament. Another outstanding player was Nipun Malinga, from CCC, with 35 runs and 8 wickets under his belt.
The RBCC field has truly paved the way for young sportsmen to gain recognition on an international platform. Enriching this tradition even further, Red Bull is now gearing up to launch its very first RBCC Women’s Tournament later this year, celebrating women’s sports and taking yet another leap to show the world that #BigGirlsCan.
As the local leg draws to a close, it is certain that Red Bull has once more achieved its longstanding goal, bridging the gap that exists for players between school and club teams. With its abundance of emerging talent, the victorious Imperial College team will go on to represent Sri Lanka on the international field at the RBCC World Finals to be held later in Oman this year.
