The 15 players selected
Muzzamil Afridi, Rahman Gul, Rizwan Haider (Dezo Devils); Shahbaz Ahmed, Suneth Sampath (Glory Gladiators); Waqas Gohar, Jamshaid Butt, Shadab Ahamed (Ganga Fighters); Ali Abid, Ayaz Butt, Ghulam Farid, JD Mahesh Kumara (Hiranni Heros); Inam Faried, Mausif Khan, Ashok Kumar (Texas Titans
A Kenyan franchise league has provided cricketers from the Pro Bash in Abu Dhabi an opportunity to play in a revamped T20 tournament.
The Simba Premier League (SPL) has drafted 15 players from the Pro Bash franchise to feature in the six-team competition at the Ruaraka Sports Club grounds in Nairobi from September 10 to 19.
The Pro Bash event director Shadab Ahamed is the architect behind signing up and providing the cricketers from Abu Dhabi in an all expenses paid trip.
"We put up a squad with all their domestic statistical records for the six franchises to choose from, and we are glad 15 were picked," Ahamed told The National.
“The response to play in the franchise league in Kenya was overwhelming as these cricketers from Abu Dhabi had an opportunity to play in a top-flight event for the first time abroad.
“The players are very excited. This is all about the opportunity they have got, and for free, with all their travel, food and lodging take care of, as well as a small allowance paid to them.”
Ahamed is the player-manager and coordinator of the Abu Dhabi cricketers. He will also play for Ganga Fighters led by Kenya international Morris Ouma and include marquee signing Asadullah Khan Pathan, the former Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman.
Former Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu along with former IPL players Shadab Jakati, Paul Valthaty, Manpreet Singh Gony and Siddhartha Trivedi are the other marquee signings in the franchises.
Jimmy Kamande leads Hirani Heros while Kenya captain Shem Ngoche (Rudra Warriros), Rushab Patel (Texas Titans), Elijah Otieno (Dezo Devils) and Nelson Odhiambo (Glory Hotels) lead the other franchises.
The franchise league is organised by Mombasa Simba Cricket Academy run by former Kenyan internationals Thomas Odoyo, Peter Ongondo, Jimmy Kamande and Tom Mboya.
According to Ongondo, the inaugural tournament in 2018 was confined to academies and clubs from Kenya, Zimbabwe and Uganda, and this year they have revamped it as a franchise league.
“We changed from club and age group because of the Covid-19,” Ongondo said at the launch ceremony.
“We can’t control kids and parents, and at the same time we already had the sponsors for the tournament.
“We thought controlling senior cricketers was easier and came up with this idea of organising this franchise league rather than doing away with the second edition of this event.”
The change in the playing format means six franchise teams will compete in a league. The team with the highest points after the league earns a direct spot in the final whilst the second and third will meet in a semi-final play-off.
“We have been fortune to have sponsors on board who have helped leverage most of this cost. We have also secured our broadcasting rights for streaming this will be an additional revenue stream for us.”
Ahamed believes the opportunity the cricketers from Abu Dhabi have received is a platform that they can build to play in various franchise leagues worldwide.
“There are a lot of franchise leagues taking place worldwide these days and there is one coming up in Cambodia in which we want to get a foothold as well,” he said.
“Obviously, SPL is an excellent start for our cricketers. Most of them have played in the major leagues in the UAE and now they have got a good platform in Kenya to build on.”
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
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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.”
The 15 players selected
Muzzamil Afridi, Rahman Gul, Rizwan Haider (Dezo Devils); Shahbaz Ahmed, Suneth Sampath (Glory Gladiators); Waqas Gohar, Jamshaid Butt, Shadab Ahamed (Ganga Fighters); Ali Abid, Ayaz Butt, Ghulam Farid, JD Mahesh Kumara (Hiranni Heros); Inam Faried, Mausif Khan, Ashok Kumar (Texas Titans
