SHARJAH // All sports fans know the drill. You analyse the list of players, pore over their prices, work out who is likely to accrue the most points, and try to find the best way to shoehorn all your favourites into one fantasy XI.
Most people use virtual money to put together their side. Nalin Khaitan, a 27-year-old cricket-loving businessman from Dubai, has spent the better part of a million dollars assembling a side to play in the Masters Champions League. Proper cash, not the virtual kind.
Those funds have bought him the services of some of the most celebrated names in cricket.
Virender Sehwag is the team director and captain of the Gemini Arabians franchise, while Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara are the marquee players.
All of which feels a little surreal for the young team owner.
“In the dream teams and the wish-lists, I always had Viru, Sangakkara, Murali and Saqlain Mushtaq,” Khaitan said.
“These four were always key players in all my lists and, luckily, I have all four of them in the team. This was on the drawing board for four months.
“We had Excel sheets, Word files, big documents, then suddenly the day came and everything started coming together and it is an unbelievable feeling.
“You are used to fantasy leagues, where you count your points, and substitute your players. You have done all that growing up, so it is an amazing feeling to have these players here now.”
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One perk of owning the team is the opportunity to play against them. Khaitan regularly plays A Division cricket for his company’s staff team.
He has been known to fly back from business trips in India to play cricket for Interface in Dubai or Sharjah, before hopping on the next plane straight back.
On Monday night, he opened the batting for them in a 20-over practice match against the Arabians at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Fair to say, he spent much of the game wondering precisely where his priorities were supposed to lie.
“I thought it would be an appropriate way to give the team practice, and also for my boys. It is a match of their lives,” he said. “While I was fielding and the first three wickets fell, I really didn’t know if I should be cheering or feel upset about it.
“Right now, I am in an Interface jersey, so I wanted Sehwag out first ball.
“Probably once I have finished here I will think to myself, ‘Uh oh ... Let’s wait and see’.”
The game was surreal for the Arabians recruits, too. They know they are lucky to get a chance like this at this stage of their careers and they want to do well when the tournament begins, starting against Libra Legends at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday evening.
Photo gallery: Jacques Kallis, Owais Shah, Brendan Taylor and more – Masters Champions League players to watch
Still, though, going full bore at the man who funds the whole operation must have felt peculiar. It is like biting the hand that feeds them.
They did not go easy, though. Graham Onions, the former England bowler, even appealed for obstructing the field when, while attempting a run out, his throw hit Khaitan. He was eventually out for 20, but not before taking boundaries off Kyle Mills and Paul Harris.
Saqlain said the game was an opportunity for the players to prove themselves fit and ready for selection the opener.
“Whenever I play, I always give 100 per cent,” Saqlain, 39, said. “I want to prepare myself for the proper game.
“I’m not sure about the other boys, but I want to use this game to prepare myself fully for the game on January 28 – if I get picked.”
Sehwag, who was out to the fourth ball of the warm-up match, said his side will be ready when the serious business starts later this week.
“As professionals, we are used to playing the game of cricket and we know what our responsibilities are,” Sehwag said.
“They are all very good human beings. They will do what the team wants, what the captain wants.
“Every format has a different role in cricket’s language. T20 is fun, it is entertainment for the public, and good for getting kids involved. They like coming to watch for three hours, it is good entertainment.”
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Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3
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Total funding: Self funded
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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ARGENTINA SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Franco Armani, Agustin Marchesin, Esteban Andrada
Defenders: Juan Foyth, Nicolas Otamendi, German Pezzella, Nicolas Tagliafico, Ramiro Funes Mori, Renzo Saravia, Marcos Acuna, Milton Casco
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes, Guido Rodriguez, Giovani Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios, Roberto Pereyra, Rodrigo De Paul, Angel Di Maria
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Lautaro Martinez, Paulo Dybala, Matias Suarez
Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
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Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Match info
Deccan Gladiators 87-8
Asif Khan 25, Dwayne Bravo 2-16
Maratha Arabians 89-2
Chadwick Walton 51 not out
Arabians won the final by eight wickets
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
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Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
The specs
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Torque: 620Nm
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Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
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