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Sport 360° view: IPL should open the door for Indian cricket's return to the UAE
It’s showtime for the Indian Premier League with the opening act of the T20 razzmatazz played out here in the UAE. It might seem peculiar to have an Indian domestic tournament outside the country but cricket fans have seen it before, with the entire 2009 edition held in South Africa.
But wherever the league goes, it prospers and now it’s the time for the UAE to get a taste of IPL mania.
The league has grown into a gargantuan entity, triggering events across the cricketing world; though not all of them pleasing to watch. It has been marred by controversies almost every edition, but such is its stature now, the league starts every new season carrying almost no baggage from those crippling incidents.
Fans pack the stadium, be it a work day or weekend, and cheer every six and every wicket with the same gusto, irrespective of the team playing or the state of the match. T20 attracts the common man, and woman, and families enjoy a fun day out with three and a half hours of boundaries, wickets, music and festivities.
That this T20 extravaganza is beginning in the UAE is great news. It is exciting how Indian cricket will be returning to this part of the world.
Bar two matches in 2006, India haven’t played in the Emirates for nearly 14 years due to fears of illicit activities. But given the way the league in India has been hit with multiple instances of alleged fixing, that argument doesn’t hold water anymore.
Stringent monitoring of players’ activities and a strong anti-corruption unit can be effective anywhere in the world and the UAE definitely has the ability to provide a safe environment for a clean game of cricket. That the International Cricket Council is based here must count for something.
Moreover, the UAE has a two million-strong Indian expat population, with many more from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka who follow the game religiously. That makes for a big market for Indian cricket which has been sidelined over the years.
What should also make a change of heart easier is the simple fact that compared to earlier – when there was just the Sharjah Cricket Stadium – the UAE now has excellent additional venues in the Dubai Cricket Stadium and the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
One gets the feeling the Indian administrators are beginning to realise that. They recently agreed to a long-term deal with the Pakistan board for a bilateral series and that should most definitely include matches in the UAE – Pakistan cricket’s current ‘home’.
Cricket fans in the UAE have been starved of Indian cricket, which they had got used to over the years and they now have an opportunity to get a taste of home-cooked fare. It’s no surprise that tickets are being quickly snapped up and the first week of IPL cricket is nearly sold out.
Once the IPL and BCCI bigwigs see how much the fans here want to be a part of the action, and how capable the UAE cricket administrators are at hosting such a huge tournament, one feels the process of welcoming Indian cricket back to the Emirates will begin in earnest.
