After an unexpected and unsettling week-long break, the Indian Premier League returns on Saturday, aiming to complete the final leg of the tournament with some major impediments along the way.
A packed cricket calendar meant that all international cricket that had been kept on hold would resume on May 25 – the original date of the IPL final.
However, the franchise league will now have its title match on June 3 after a change in schedule due to the brief conflict between India and Pakistan, which means the league will spill into the international calendar. That has forced last-minute negotiations between overseas players and cricket boards with the IPL about who plays when and where.
All of which is expected to impact teams who are in the race for the play-offs. Teams who rely heavily on their foreign contingent are making anxious permutations as many stars are unlikely to be available for the entirety of the IPL.
With so many moving parts, we take a look at where the teams and the tournament stand as the tournament restarts with a clash between Bengaluru and Kolkata on Saturday.
IPL play-offs scenario
Chennai, Hyderabad and Rajasthan have already been eliminated from the play-offs race. That means seven teams still have a realistic, or at least mathematical, chance of qualifying for the next stage.
At the top of the table, Gujarat and Bengaluru are well placed on eight wins and 16 points. Both need just one more win from their three remaining games to be guaranteed of qualification.
Punjab are next up on seven wins and 15 points after a washout. Two more wins should secure their spot, while one more win from three remaining games could also get the job done. But at 17 points, there could be other teams in play as well.
Mumbai have staged a late comeback in the tournament and have seven wins and 14 points from 12 matches. They need to win both their remaining games as one more defeat would make qualification a tense affair.
For Kolkata (11 points from 12 matches) and Lucknow (10 from 11 games), the walls are closing in as they have fewer points than matches played, which is generally a point of no return with just a handful of matches remaining.
Which international players are returning to the IPL?
The major issue facing the IPL is the start of the England summer and the World Test Championship final. West Indies’ ODI series in England begins on May 29, while South Africa and Australia will play in the WTC final at Lord’s from June 11.
Many England, South Africa and Australian players are expected to be available only for a brief period, most likely until the play-offs.
Another factor is the mental health of the players, especially those from Delhi and Punjab who participated in the May 8 match that was abandoned in Dharamsala – during the worst period of the conflict between India and Pakistan.
According to reports, some players have been left shaken by the entire ordeal and are not too keen to return.
Set for return: Gerald Coetzee (Gujarat Titans); Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Anrich Nortje, Quinton de Kock, Spencer Johnson (Kolkata Knight Riders); Pat Cummins and Travis Head (Sunrisers Hyderabad); Mitchell Santner (Mumbai Indians); Romario Shepherd, Liam Livingstone, Tim David, Jacob Bethell, Phil Salt (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)
Limited availability: Jos Buttler and Kagiso Rabada (Gujarat Titans), Lungi Ngidi (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Marco Jansen (Punjab Kings), Wiaan Mulder (Sunrisers Hyderabad); Jacob Bethell (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)
Uncertain: Mitchell Starc, Faf du Plessis, Tristan Stubbs (Delhi Capitals); Will Jacks, Ryan Rickleton, Corbin Bosch (Mumbai Indians); Josh Inglis and Marcus Stoinis (Punjab Kings)
Pulled out: Jake Fraser-McGurk (Delhi Capitals), Jamie Overton and Sam Curran (Chennai Super Kings); Jofra Archer (Rajasthan Royals)
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if you go
The flights
Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.
The hotel
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Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850
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Events and tours
There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com
For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art.
More information
For ideas on planning a trip to Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
SPECS
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More on Quran memorisation:
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
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.
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
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RESULTS
Cagliari 5-2 Fiorentina
Udinese 0-0 SPAL
Sampdoria 0-0 Atalanta
Lazio 4-2 Lecce
Parma 2-0 Roma
Juventus 1-0 AC Milan
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
Third Test
Day 3, stumps
India 443-7 (d) & 54-5 (27 ov)
Australia 151
India lead by 346 runs with 5 wickets remaining
Profile Periscope Media
Founder: Smeetha Ghosh, one co-founder (anonymous)
Launch year: 2020
Employees: four – plans to add another 10 by July 2021
Financing stage: $250,000 bootstrap funding, approaching VC firms this year
Investors: Co-founders
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Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
