The 2015 UAE Exchange & Xpress Money 50-over Premier League and Women’s T20 tournament were launched amid fanfare at the Kicukiro cricket ground on Sunday.

The well-attended function started with a fun cricket game which was won by captain’s XI with 60 runs against 57 for the sponsor’s XI.

The 50-over Premier League and the Women’s T20 tournament are both organized by the Rwanda Cricket Association (RCA). Matches will be played over a period of two and a half months.

The six-team 50-over Premier League was slated to get underway on Sunday with defending champions Right Guards CC taking on Kerala Hunters CC.

Other teams include; Kigali CC, Telugu Royals CC, Challengers CC and last year’s runners-up Indorwa CC, while the Women’s T20 tournament has four teams namely; Charity CC, White Clouds CC, Kigali Angels CC and FAWE CC.

The RCA general manager, Joshua Mwanja said, "We are adopting the new International Cricket Council (ICC) playing conditions. Basically, we want to improve our cricket locally and to adapt to international standards.”

After unveiling the sponsorship package worth Rwf2 million, the UAE Exchange Africa Region Head, Unni Krishnan, said their support to the game is in line with the company’s corporate social responsibility policy.

He said, "As a company, we are driven by the desire to leave a permanent impact everywhere we go and sports is one platform where we believe we can cause a lot of change. Our support to cricket locally is in line with this belief.”

This is the third time in a row that UAE Exchange & Xpress Money are sponsoring this tournament, and the RCA vice president, Srinath Vardhineni, noted, "We appreciate their contribution and support towards cricket in Rwanda.”

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