YANBU: The Yanbu Cricket League organized a farewell party in honor of its former member and old stalwart Mohammad Shoukatullah, who is leaving for good after spending almost 20 years in the Kingdom and returning back to his native India.
Shoukatullah, an all-rounder and described as a gem of a person, hails from Hyderabad, India. He joined Lubrizol Tran Arabian Company Ltd., as a logistics officer in Yanbu in 1989.
In India, he had represented the inter districts/cities tournament in the school and college categories. His best performance in the categories was a 9-wicket haul. He was a member of the cricket academies for the junior state level for U-19 age group. He had also played domestic cricket under the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) for Premier League for the Friends and Vijaya Hunuman Cricket Clubs.
Playing with Lubrizol, Shoukatullah’s magnificent contribution for his team included 139, 92 and 63 runs in his first three matches that won him the man-of-the-match award for three consecutive matches. Besides hitting three centuries in his domestic career in Yanbu, Shoukatullah hit the fastest half-century off 13 balls. He also has to his credit a record of maximum sixes in an innings in the triangular series of Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan on the occasion of Sri Lanka’s Independence Day.
Abdul Jabbar, ex-president of YCL, lauded Shoukatullah’s abilities as cricketer and captain of the team. He exemplified himself in both roles, Jabbar said and conveyed to him his best wishes for his endeavor to settle in his hometown Hyderabad.
Senior cricketers Aijaz A. Khan, Das Fernandez, Iqbal Patel, Zafar Ali also wished him well at the function held at the Royal Commission.
