Hashim Amla does not wear a Castle logo on his cricket shirt, said that he
did not pocket a cent from his match fee.
Promoting beer & liquor is against the teaching of Islam and as such Amla
became the first player to be the exception.
who was granted permission by South African Breweries and Cricket South
Africa not to wear the Castle logos on his clothing.
He scored 250 runs (not out) in the recent test match against India
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"Since Hashim understands his religion well, his beliefs are staunch and
knows what is right and wrong. At the outset he made the decision not to
wear the Castle logo on his clothing, which went public, and at the same
time he also took the decision that the money earned from the Tests,
sponsored by Castle, were forbidden for his use
INTERVIEW WITH HASHIM AMLA
You religion is clearly important to you but just how much?
The importance of my religion has increased as I have got older. I
couldn't put a time frame on it but I have found that following the
Islamic way of life has a lot of beauty to it. Although I was born into a
Muslim family I wasn't always practicing. The more I have understood the
differences in the various faiths I have adopted as much of Islam as
possible. I'm certainly no saint but the discipline of the Islamic way of
life has helped my cricket without a doubt. I don't drink and I pray five
times a day, which gives stability to my daily routine.
Can you tell us about your background?
I come from a small town 40 kilo metres north of Durban. I played a lot of
sport at primary school like cricket, soccer, tennis, table tennis. I was
brought up in a predominantly Asian community but I later went to Durban
High School, which had a good sporting heritage and my Dad encouraged me
to go there and paid the fees for me to go. Fortunately after the first
year I got a bursary as I was good at sport and got looked after.
&nbs p;