Subsequently, items including a signed Saeed Ajmal shirt were auctioned, raising some useful funds for the academy. Saeed helped with the auction which certainly boosted the bidding from the audience, although I don't think auctioneering is something that Saeed should look into entering after his cricketing days are over.

Saeed Ajmal then shared his thoughts about the academy project, his vision and what he hopes to achieve from the academy. His main focus is to provide children around the world with valuable opportunities in receiving coaching from highly qualified coaches and current and former international cricketers. Saeed's speech of course, very much like his interviews raised a few smiles at the venue and also displayed what a humble and likeable man he is.

Zaheer Abbas spoke a few words about the evening , followed by Raveena Tandon who spoke well about cross-border sporting heroes and how appreciation for sporting stars should be present irrespective of which country they were from and prejudices in sport should not occur. She recalled an incident in Mumbai when as a young girl she was thrilled to get the autograph of Zaheer Abbas (which she still has kept).

Comedian Umer Sharif was eventually next on stage. His unique brand of humour went down well with the audience as he mocked any celebrity he could set his eyes on. It was a good job that some of the audience couldn't understand what was being said otherwise they may have been offended. He invited Saeed Ajmal on stage and tried to hit a few big shots, but Saeed was in fine form and beat Sharif with a few good replies of his own. If this was a boxing match, it would have been declared a points victory for Sharif though, with Saeed keeping his replies mostly low-key.

As the cricketers looked on concerned as to who would next be invited onto the stage, Umer Shairif's eyes were fixed on Misbah-ul-Haq. He invited Misbah to the stage who initially looked like he would turn down the invitation, but then after a bit of thought he walked onto the stage like a batsman ready to face one of the fastest bowlers in the world. Umer threw a few bouncers at Misbah, but he ducked underneath them. As Umer Sharif approached a few controversial subjects, Misbah calmly said to him "Are you working for Geo", which brought some cheers from the crowd. Overall the Pakistan skipper handled Sharif well with a straight bat and understandably left a few 'deliveries' alone from him. 

With Saeed Ajmal and Misbah-ul-Haq out of the way, Umer Sharif was looking for his next 'victim'. He shouted if there were any Akmals present, but at that time Kamran hadn't arrived, due to some problems with his flight. So he moved onto Imran Nazir, who gave Umer Sharif a taste of his own medicine with some sharp replies to the veteran comedian. Imran is suffering from arthritis and there are some doubts over whether he will play cricket again, but when it came to handling Sharif's questions, he was certainly not shy of direct and firm replies.

By now everyone had built up quite an appetite and the fantastic array of food was served. Far too many varieties to list here, but all very tasty and served by very hospitable waiters and waitresses. The meal was topped off for myself with a couple of plates of very tasty gajrela. 

Following the evening meal, there were some more speeches, then some photo opportunities for everyone with the players. The audience was also given the opportunity to mingle with the players and obtain autographs, as well as sign bats and shirts too. 

Overall it was a well organised event which gave people the opportunity to interact at their leisure and without overbearing security staff, with cricketers of the past and the present. It was a very good effort from the players to turn up at the launch party having been invited by International Cricketer's Association. The audience was well looked after and the organisers can be very proud of their efforts and hard work. 

The Saeed Ajmal International Cricket Academy is an exciting venture and if managed well and efficiently can be a huge success. With the passion of Saeed Ajmal behind this project I'm sure it will go a long way and we'll be hearing a lot about this fantastic project.