At such a tender age, Ibrahim Sajjabi has been able to take part in different hard ball cricket games that include Batball open Nile edition, red ball second edition and the UCA T20 Cup while representing JACC. Ibrahim Sajjabi has been able to impress mainly with the ball with his medium pace but his improvement is also being seen with the bat as time goes on.
Having lost the morning game, JACC came back stronger in the afternoon to register a notable victory against Aziz Damani Ismaili Community team by 2 wickets with efforts of Ibrahim Sajjabi who pulled off two runs off the last ball in what most thought it was a double loss for JACC on the day.
But its on a rare case that, Ibrahim Sajjabi is always given a chance to play on the team due to the number of players increasingly being enough and due to his age, he is always not given a chance.
But who really is Ibrahim Sajjabi?
Ibrahim Sajjabi is a ten-year-old boy, currently in primary five at Victoria Nile primary school and a resident at Ambercourt Village in Jinja city. With a supportive mother, Ibrahim Sajjabi has been able to learn cricket through soft ball to hard and now he is a promising player at JACC.
His mother was inspired by some of the cricketers from the same village, who went on to represent Uganda at U-19 such as Ssezoba Abdulah, Agaba Eddie and she would like her child to take the same path towards his cricket development if time and resources all allow.
“It feels great watching your child play for the National team be it the under ages or the national men’s team, it gives me joy as a mother and I would feel very proud,” his mum narrated during his early stages of joining cricket.
“I have seen many players earning bursaries as early as secondary school and University education through cricket, I would also love to have the same set up for my child once he joins secondary school because I believe he is talented and with the guidance of the coaches around, he can become a better player,” his mother added.
During his first hard ball tournament, Batball Open Nile Edition, Ibrahim Sajjabi went on to emerge as the best youngest player of the tournament after registering phenomenal performance in some of the games he was played and that could have been a turning point for him to build his confidence.
Many still have hope that they will go on to represent the Nile region at the upcoming Batball X in August 2023 and Ibrahim Sajjabi is among those hoping.
“Not so many players are good at what they do or willing to learn in the shortest time possible, but Ibrahim Sajjabi is one of those that will seem to have a great sports career if well attended too,” said coach Mugalula Habib adding that he is still young, well disciplined, good at listening and able to put into practice what he has been taught, something a few can afford and but a few factors will affect him depending on his body structure once he grows up.
In the recently concluded second edition of red ball and all whites, he featured for Busowoko and bowled some good overs despite not being in position to register any wicket but earned enough playing time while on the pitch.
There are so many talents in the region who are close or better that Ibrahim Sajjabi but still need to be found at an early stage.
Match result-28th May 2023
Morning game
Aziz Damani Ismaili community Team- 141/6 in 20 overs
JACC-52/10 in 13.4 overs
Aziz Damani Ismaili community Team won by 89 runs against JACC
Afternoon game
Aziz Damani Ismaili community team- 110/9 in 19.3 overs
JACC 111/8 in 20 overs
JACC won by 2 wickets against Aziz Damani Ismaili community team
