Sharjah has hosted more ODI matches than any other venue, and will see its first Asia Cup 2022 action on Tuesday when Bangladesh face Afghanistan. Pawan Singh / The National
Sharjah has hosted more ODI matches than any other venue, and will see its first Asia Cup 2022 action on Tuesday when Bangladesh face Afghanistan. Pawan Singh / The National
Sharjah has hosted more ODI matches than any other venue, and will see its first Asia Cup 2022 action on Tuesday when Bangladesh face Afghanistan. Pawan Singh / The National
Sharjah has hosted more ODI matches than any other venue, and will see its first Asia Cup 2022 action on Tuesday when Bangladesh face Afghanistan. Pawan Singh / The National

'It was way beyond time that we set this up’ – How Sharjah helped create Asia Cup


Paul Radley
  • English
  • Arabic

When the Asia Cup makes its return to Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday it will feel much like a family reunion.

Beloved relatives returning to the fold after 27 years of separation loaded with stories about all their achievements.

The first Asia Cup was staged in Sharjah in 1984. That tri-series, between India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, represented the first official one-day internationals played at the new stadium in the UAE desert.

Both the competition and the venue have prospered in the time since. The success of that series consolidated a growing interest in the game among the expatriate community in the UAE. Sharjah now holds the world record for the most one-day internationals staged at a single venue.

“I felt that the with more than 1 billion people interested in cricket in the region that we needed an identity,” Abdulrahman Bukhatir, the founder of Sharjah Cricket Stadium, told The National.

  • View from outside the ground as spectators gather for the Asia Cup match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka on April 6, 1984, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Getty Images
    View from outside the ground as spectators gather for the Asia Cup match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka on April 6, 1984, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Getty Images
  • The Sharjah stadium regularly sees a good turnout. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    The Sharjah stadium regularly sees a good turnout. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • The Sharjah stadium has hosted the most ODIs in the world. AFP
    The Sharjah stadium has hosted the most ODIs in the world. AFP
  • Fans during the PSL game between Lahore Qalandars and Quetta Gladiators in Sharjah. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Fans during the PSL game between Lahore Qalandars and Quetta Gladiators in Sharjah. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • The Sharjah stadium has seen many memorable performances. Getty Images
    The Sharjah stadium has seen many memorable performances. Getty Images
  • Fast bowler Haris Rauf while playing for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League in Sharjah. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Fast bowler Haris Rauf while playing for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League in Sharjah. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • The venue has hosted UAE's World Cup League 2 matches. Satish Kumar for The National
    The venue has hosted UAE's World Cup League 2 matches. Satish Kumar for The National
  • The Sharjah stadium witnessed the birth of T10 cricket. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    The Sharjah stadium witnessed the birth of T10 cricket. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • In 2014, some matches of the Indian Premier League were played in Sharjah. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National
    In 2014, some matches of the Indian Premier League were played in Sharjah. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

“I proposed the idea of an Asia Cup to the Indian and Pakistani boards and they were enthusiastic to give this idea a shot.

“Since there were bipartisan crowds in the UAE we decided that after the success of the original Sunil Gavaskar v Javed Miandad match [an invitational fixture that launched the new ground] we would hold the first Asia Cup in Sharjah.

“[Administrators] NKP Salve and M Chinnaswamy from India, and Air Marshal Noor Khan [from Pakistan] were equally enthusiastic and thought it was way beyond time that we set this up.

“It was a huge success and set the pace for the unique and unparalleled [Cricketers Benefit Fund Series of matches in Sharjah] experiment over the next 15 years. We gave away $4 million in purses to over 100 cricketers, with no strings attached.”

UAE businessman Abdulrahman Bukhatir. Photo: Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE businessman Abdulrahman Bukhatir. Photo: Sharjah Cricket Stadium

As an Emirati businessman, Bukhatir might have seemed like an unlikely champion for cricket. But he was taken by a sport he fell for while at school in Pakistan, and went on to establish its roots in the UAE.

“I played football first, but in Karachi I was introduced to cricket by my neighbours,” he said.

“Surprisingly I found I was pretty good at it. Then one day the MCC team arrived to play and we went to watch. I was bitten by the bug.

“I came back to a UAE where cricket was a non-starter except for a couple of teams at the Royal Air Force base.

“I got a few like-minded people [together] and we started playing on matting wickets. My friends were amused by my obsession but also intrigued.”

Bukhatir passed his passion on to his sons, Waleed and Khalaf, each of whom have subsequently been involved in the running of the sport in the country.

“Football was the sport of the country when I was growing up,” Bukhatir said. “To some extent it still is, but the UAE now has a pretty decent following.

“My sons, Khalaf and Waleed, both play, which is a matter of great pride for me. It is always nice to know your legacy is in the right hands, and every time an Emirati comes to the crease I do feel vindicated.”

As anyone with any knowledge of the history of Sharjah would likely concur, Bukhatir’s two favourite members of matches at his ground were Miandad’s final-ball six off Chetan Sharma in 1986, and Sachin Tendulkar’s “Desert Storm” centuries in 1998.

Bukhatir is sure the frenzy of matches in Sharjah in the 1980s and ’90s laid the platform for the “cricketainment” on offer in tournaments like the Asia Cup and IPL today.

“We like to say it all started here in Sharjah,” he said.

“The glamour and the game came together at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Even today that nostalgia survives and we continue to keep the Sharjah magic alive.”

  • An advert for the match between Gavaskar XI and Miandad XI which took place at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, April 3 1981. Courtesy: The Cricketer Pakistan
    An advert for the match between Gavaskar XI and Miandad XI which took place at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, April 3 1981. Courtesy: The Cricketer Pakistan
  • Abdul Rahman Falaknaz and Mahmood Redha Abbas. Courtesy: The Cricketer Pakistan
    Abdul Rahman Falaknaz and Mahmood Redha Abbas. Courtesy: The Cricketer Pakistan
  • The two captains after the toss during a match between Gavaskar XI and Miandad XI at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, April 3 1981. Courtesy: The Cricketer Pakistan
    The two captains after the toss during a match between Gavaskar XI and Miandad XI at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, April 3 1981. Courtesy: The Cricketer Pakistan
  • Hanif Mohammad. Courtesy: The Cricketer Pakistan
    Hanif Mohammad. Courtesy: The Cricketer Pakistan
  • The Pakistan side, led by Javed Miandad, takes the field during a match between Gavaskar XI and Miandad XI at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, April 3 1981. Courtesy: The Cricketer Pakistan
    The Pakistan side, led by Javed Miandad, takes the field during a match between Gavaskar XI and Miandad XI at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, April 3 1981. Courtesy: The Cricketer Pakistan
  • Man of the match Taslim Arif steers Kapil Dev through the slips, while Sadiq Mohammad looks on during a match between Gavaskar XI and Miandad XI at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, April 3 1981. Courtesy: The Cricketer Pakistan
    Man of the match Taslim Arif steers Kapil Dev through the slips, while Sadiq Mohammad looks on during a match between Gavaskar XI and Miandad XI at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, April 3 1981. Courtesy: The Cricketer Pakistan
  • Hanif Mohammad with Qasim Noorani and Abdul Rehman Bukhatir. Courtesy: The Cricketer Pakistan
    Hanif Mohammad with Qasim Noorani and Abdul Rehman Bukhatir. Courtesy: The Cricketer Pakistan
  • FAsif Iqbal during a match between Gavaskar XI and Miandad XI at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, April 3 1981. Courtesy: The Cricketer Pakistan
    FAsif Iqbal during a match between Gavaskar XI and Miandad XI at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, April 3 1981. Courtesy: The Cricketer Pakistan

It feels appropriate that the first Asia Cup fixture in Sharjah since the event last came to the city, back in 1995, will be between Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Neither was part of cricket’s elite back when the competition started 38 years ago. Afghanistan, for its part, was still decades away from having anything discernible as organised cricket at all.

And yet, when the refugee-turned-international cricket trailblazers started their journey at the turn of the century, their worth was quickly noted in Sharjah.

Bukhatir offered free use of his stadium to the Afghan national team, and it became their home in exile.

He believes that is a good example of how cricket can broaden its horizons beyond its established nations.

“As these teams mature it will automatically widen the scope of the Asia Cup,” Bukhatir said.

“Afghanistan is a great example of how a team can rise to play with the best when given the right platform and support.”

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Arabian Gulf Cup FINAL

Al Nasr 2

(Negredo 1, Tozo 50)

Shabab Al Ahli 1

(Jaber 13)

RESULT

Chelsea 2

Willian 13'

Ross Barkley 64'

Liverpool 0

Panipat

Director Ashutosh Gowariker

Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment

Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman

Rating 3 /stars

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Overview

What: The Arab Women’s Sports Tournament is a biennial multisport event exclusively for Arab women athletes.

When: From Sunday, February 2, to Wednesday, February 12.

Where: At 13 different centres across Sharjah.

Disciplines: Athletics, archery, basketball, fencing, Karate, table tennis, shooting (rifle and pistol), show jumping and volleyball.

Participating countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and UAE.

Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others

Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.

As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.

Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.

“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”

Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.

“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”

Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.

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RESULTS

Tottenham 1

Jan Vertonghen 13'

Norwich 1

Josip Drmic 78'

2-3 on penalties

T20 World Cup Qualifier

October 18 – November 2

Opening fixtures

Friday, October 18

ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya

Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE

UAE squad

Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan

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Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed

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*Venue: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi

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MATCH INFO

Northern Warriors 92-1 (10 ovs)

Russell 37 no, Billings 35 no

Team Abu Dhabi 93-4 (8.3 ovs)

Wright 48, Moeen 30, Green 2-22

Team Abu Dhabi win by six wickets

Updated: August 30, 2022, 2:54 AM