India’s Consul General at San Francisco Dr. K. Srikar Reddy recently inaugurated a cricket pitch at the University of the Pacific’s Stockton campus in California.
Christopher Callahan, president of University of the Pacific, Niraj Chaudhary, the university’s dean of libraries, students from the Indian community and around a 100 people attended the event.
Chaudhary, who had suggested the idea to Callahan during the university delegation's trip to India, spearheaded the project to set up the new pitch. Callahan said,“Niraj knows I am an easy sell. We wrote the plan for the facility on the way back from India, and he is the one who made it happen.”
Consul General Reddy highlighted the significance of the pitch for the 450 Indian students, who account for about 50 percent of total international students at the University.
Consul General [CG] Dr. K. Srikar Reddy along with the Pacific President Christopher Callahan @PacificPres inaugurated the new Cricket pitch today at the University of the Pacific. @UOPacific CG held discussions with President Callahan and senior faculty members regarding… pic.twitter.com/jEdPf6GkPe
— India in SF (@CGISFO) March 29, 2024
“This certainly will make more students from India consider University of the Pacific. I could not be more pleased with this event today. We appreciate how the university has embraced our culture. We will have a great friendship with Pacific,” he said.
On the occasion, the Consul General further took part in an exhibition match and underscored the growing interest in cricket across the United States, especially with the U.S. hosting ICC T20 World Cup matches in June this year. He also held discussions with president Callahan and senior faculty members regarding enhancing collaboration with Indian educational institutions.
Yesterday Pacific celebrated the grand opening of its new cricket pitch The Dean of William Knox Holt Memorial Library and Learning Center, Niraj Chaudhary led this project and has dedicated so much to making this possible, it wouldn't be what it is without him. pic.twitter.com/cz2W3Penep
— University of the Pacific (@UOPacific) March 29, 2024
“It means a lot to us that the university would consider and build a cricket pitch. This shows how much Pacific cares about students,” said Devkumar Patel ’24, president of the Pacific Cricket Club. “Back home in India, we would play the sport every day. This will allow us to do the same thing here at Pacific.”
Indian food, Bollywood performances and much more were a part of the inauguration ceremony at the University.
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