Rajasthan Royals
Based: Dubai
Last season: Seventh
Best finish: Champions in 2008
Coach: Andrew McDonald
Captain: Steve Smith. Smith must feel like he has a fair amount to thank Rajasthan for. They were the first side to show faith in him as a captain again after his suspension for Sandpapergate. Maybe not quite as dominant a T20 force as he is in the other formats, but he has been working on rectifying that.
Key man: Jos Buttler
England’s greatest ever white-ball cricketer, according to Stuart Broad, Michael Vaughan, and a number of others. And possibly the outstanding T20 batsman in the world at present, too. Rajasthan Royals were the first team to run with the idea of him opening the innings. Turns out it was not the worst idea anyone has ever had.
Big miss: Potentially Ben Stokes
It is unknown whether Stokes will be available for the IPL. He skipped the last part of England’s lockdown summer to travel to New Zealand to be with his family, after his father had been diagnosed with brain cancer.
If he does make it to the UAE, clearly that will improve the Royals immeasurably. Without him, they still have fine back up batting in the form of big-hitting IPL regular David Miller, but it would deprive them an extra bowling option.
Verdict
Often termed the IPL’s “Moneyball” franchise, the Royals are proud of the fact they spend less money per point than any other side.
One look at the star quality in their line up suggests they are not exactly skinflints, though, with England’s star trio of Buttler, Stokes and Jofra Archer in their engine room, with Smith helming the ship.
They have also been arguably the most proactive team with regards to Covid-19 safety, too. Before travelling to the UAE, they underwent extra testing, over and above the IPL’s standard protocol.
It included testing for antibodies, the results of which had a bearing on who was assigned which room during quarantine. Those who had them became designated “blockers”.
Fixtures
1. Match 4, Tuesday, September 22, 6pm, Sharjah - Rajasthan Royals v Chennai Super Kings
2. Match 9, Sunday, September 27, 6pm, Sharjah – Rajasthan Royals v Kings XI Punjab
3. Match 12, Wednesday, September 30, 6pm, Dubai – Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders
4. Match 15, Saturday, October 3, 2pm, Abu Dhabi – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Rajasthan Royals
5. Match 20, Tuesday, October 6, 6pm, Abu Dhabi – Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals
6. Match 23, Friday, October 9, 6pm, Sharjah – Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Capitals
7. Match 26, Sunday, October 11, 2pm, Dubai – Sunrisers Hyderabad v Rajasthan Royals
8. Match 30, Wednesday, October 14, 6pm, Dubai – Delhi Capitals v Rajasthan Royals
9. Match 33, Saturday, October 17, 2pm, Dubai – Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore
10. Match 37, Monday, October 19, 6pm, Abu Dhabi – Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals
11. Match 40, Thursday, October 22, 6pm, Dubai – Rajasthan Royals v Sunrisers Hyderabad
12. Match 45, Sunday, October 25, 6pm, Abu Dhabi – Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians
13. Match 50, Friday, October 30, 6pm, Abu Dhabi – Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals
14. Match 54, Sunday, November 1, 6pm, Dubai – Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
Need to know
Unlike other mobile wallets and payment apps, a unique feature of eWallet is that there is no need to have a bank account, credit or debit card to do digital payments.
Customers only need a valid Emirates ID and a working UAE mobile number to register for eWallet account.
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 BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Whenever I have any free time I always go back to see my family in Caltra, Galway, it’s the only place I can properly relax.
Favourite film: The Way, starring Martin Sheen. It’s about the Camino de Santiago walk from France to Spain.
Personal motto: If something’s meant for you it won’t pass you by.
Last-16 Europa League fixtures
Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm
Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm
Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm
Thursday
Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm
Sevilla v Roma (one leg only) 8.55pm
FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm
Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm
OPENING FIXTURES
Saturday September 12
Crystal Palace v Southampton
Fulham v Arsenal
Liverpool v Leeds United
Tottenham v Everton
West Brom v Leicester
West Ham v Newcastle
Monday September 14
Brighton v Chelsea
Sheffield United v Wolves
To be rescheduled
Burnley v Manchester United
Manchester City v Aston Villa
