Organisers of the DP World International League T20 say the tournament will be boosted by the involvement of Pakistan players in the second season of the competition.
The country’s players were prevented from playing when the UAE’s new franchise league had its inaugural season at the start of this year.
However, the Pakistan Cricket Board is set to permit its players to be involved when the competition returns in January and February next year.
“It is big news for the ILT20 that the PCB will be issuing [no objection certificates] to its players,” Subhan Ahmed, the chief operating officer of the ILT20, told The National.
“We are hopeful of seeing top quality Pakistani players featuring in ILT20 in season two. It will give a boost to the competition, and we are looking forward to it.”
Which Pakistan players feature is yet to be confirmed. The competition concludes just before the start of the country’s own franchise competition, the Pakistan Super League.
It also overlaps with competitions like the Big Bash League in Australia, the Bangladesh Premier League, and the new South African T20 event.
Players like Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim have been regulars in Australia’s Big Bash League in the past.
However, the stars of Pakistan cricket could be tempted to switch to the UAE competition given the enviable salaries on offer.
“We have had discussions with the PCB about the availability and timings,” Subhan said.
“So long as there are no clashes in terms of their commitments, the players will be made available.
“We do understand that, because of the crowded calendar, there is always difficulties finding an exclusive window where everyone is available.
“But we are trying to find slots where the Pakistani players will be available to play in ILT20.”
The inclusion of star players from Pakistan could help attract spectators to the stadiums. Although the first season of ILT20 was well received by the players involved, and over 20,000 saw Gulf Giants beat Desert Vipers in the final, attendances were generally low for most matches.
Expatriate supporters of Pakistan previously had a surfeit of chances to see their compatriots playing on the fields of the UAE.
The national team played almost all of their home fixtures in the country for a decade after an attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009 meant touring sides opted out of travelling there over security concerns. The early seasons of the PSL were also staged in the Emirates.
Since international cricket has returned to Pakistan, visits to the UAE have been fewer. They appeared at the World T20 in 2021, then the Asia Cup the following year, and played a bilateral series against Afghanistan in March of this year.
Subhan believes the chance to see Pakistan’s stars in the flesh again will bring supporters back to the stadiums.
“There is a big subcontinental expat population here, especially from India and Pakistan,” he said.
“People will be looking forward to seeing their heroes in action at our grounds in our event, so we are looking forward to their participation.”
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- Cherish Cafe Dubai, Dubai Investment Park, are giving away free coffees all day.
- La Terrace, Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai, are serving their first 50 guests one coffee and four bite-sized cakes
- Wild & The Moon will be giving away a free espresso with every purchase on International Coffee Day
- Orange Wheels welcome parents are to sit, relax and enjoy goodies at ‘Café O’ along with a free coffee
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It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
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Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
