Lions Cricket Club, Regina: The story of the dying cricket club that became the cricket savior in Regina

(Courtesy: Lions Cricket Club / Facebook)

REGINA, Saskatchewan – No one is bigger than a cricket and a cricket club.

If you are reading this for the first time, it is very important that you know that these words can only be associated with the Lion Cricket Club, Regina.

The Lion Cricket Club was founded in the early 1990s and is based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It was formerly known as the St. George Club. Club members place the game above anyone’s selfish interest. This is pure passion.

The Lion Cricket Club came at a time when cricket was one of Canada’s least loved sports. In the early ’90s, when the club was founded, only four other cricket clubs existed. The most challenging thing about a cricket club is that few want to play or recognize the sport.

The weight of building the club became small when the club signed a memorandum of understanding with India on the establishment of the India Canada Association. The club was registered as the Canadian Cricket Club of India and was the only cricket club still present at the time. However, there were still difficulties in getting players. They had to rely on Saskatoon players to keep Regina’s only surviving cricket club running.

The sun later shone on the club as Mike Sharma took over its leadership. As president of the club, his first brand change was to change the name of the club. He had a vision where everyone could come play cricket no matter where they came from, but he felt the name of the club (Indian Canada Association) could limit it. That’s why he changed the name of the clubs to Lion Cricket Club.

Therefore, one of the values ​​of the club is to respect each other regardless of the country of origin or socio-economic background. For them, equality is essential.

Sharmas ’rebranding tactics worked magically, not only in the club but also throughout Regina. First, players from different walks of life and nationalities began joining the club. Second, there was great interest in the sport, as donations were made to procure things necessary for the operation of the club. In less than two years, the Lions Cricket Club transformed from Regina’s only cricket club into 15 additional clubs. Eventually, the mayor of Regina saw what the club was doing and offered the clubs a second place.

Lions CC became a dying cricket club revival throughout Regina. Today, they feed three teams in competitive championships. They have two T20 teams and one ODI team.

In addition, the club has had success not only surviving and reviving cricket in Regina, but it has kept cricket alive and remained one of the dominant forces in the league in which they compete. Their first championship came in 2013 when they became the ODI 2013 Champions of the Year. From then on, the doors of the trophies were opened to them.

In 2015, they became Regina T20 champions for the first time and were crowned Division 2 champions the following year. They also made it to the T20 semifinals in Division II in 2019.

Players like Abhay Panchal, Darshil Shal, Sanjay Prajapati and many others put their heads together to make sure they maintain a good position in the league.

I find it fascinating that often well-built recreation centers with double ice cushion or double ball diamond or double soccer field and cost more than $ 35 million and never discuss it are almost automatic, but when you take some spending on sports (cricket) involving not historically invested, suddenly people ask if we should spend so much money, said Mayor Patrick Brown.

The Lion Cricket Club was the first to share the good news when Mayor Patrick Brown defended a plan to spend $ 35 million to build a cricket stadium. This is the first in Canada, and the future of cricket looks brighter.

The Lions Cricket Club may not be awarded many credits today, but history will never forget what they did at Regina Cricket. However, anyone who loves cricket passionately is grateful for the Lions ’courage to make sure they stayed upright when no other cricket club could.

This is an unedited user write. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Best Version Media or its employees.