The DP World International League T20 could prompt an influx of cricketers from India into the UAE looking to represent the national team.
That is the view of one of the TV executives who air the tournament in India, where they reported an audience of 220 million viewers for last season.
The third season of the UAE’s franchise T20 league begins on January 11, 2025, when defending champions MI Emirates play Dubai Capitals.
According to Ashish Sehgal, the chief growth officer for digital and broadcast revenue at Zee Entertainment Enterprise, ILT20 is the second most viewed in India after the IPL.
As such, he believes the country could become a destination for disaffected Indian cricketers looking to feature in the competition, and also represent the national team.
League rules stipulate that just two players in each starting XI have to be UAE-based. Those players do not need to be fully eligible for selection for the country as yet, but must agree that they intend to qualify through the ICC’s three-year residency criteria.
“[The ILT20 teams are] not belonging to a particular city or country, and because of that we believe we can build fandom in India,” Sehgal said.
“There, the cricket-loving population is in millions. It is also about helping the UAE build a cricketing culture.
“In turn that gives us the opportunity to give back to the society, in terms of having the Asian diaspora playing cricket here.
“There are so many players in India who don’t get an opportunity to play anywhere, and they have good talent. There are lakhs [100,000] and lakhs of players who might start getting an opportunity.”
The ILT20 is the only sports event aired on Zee’s 15 channels across India. Their 10-year media rights deal with the league was signed three years ago for a reported cost of $120 million.
“We are very careful about how we venture into any sport unless there is an opportunity of making profits in a short period of time,” Seghal said.
“The sport has to make sense because the rights are exorbitantly expensive, especially in cricket across the world, whether it be bilateral series, ICC tournaments, or the IPL itself. We thought we would enter small, but enter somewhere that made sense.
“Hopefully, in Season 3 onwards, we should start seeing a profit.”
Seghal insists a global viewership of 340 million across the world for ILT20 Season 2 stacks up well against the 546 million who watched the 67 matches of the last IPL season within India.
“Yes, the time spent on the matches is much less, and the fanfare is much less, but we are not competing with the IPL,” he said.
“Even if we get one tenth of the recognition of the IPL, I think we are on the right path. Even in the first five years, the IPL wasn’t that popular in our country itself. It takes some time to build any franchise league.”
The second season of the ILT20 saw significantly greater numbers of spectators watching the matches in person at the stadiums than in the opening season in 2023.
The organisers hope that the work done promoting the league among the domestic cricket community will help to continue that trend when the third season begins next month.
Seghal, though, insists the fact there are nine overseas players in each team means the ILT20 is also attractive to viewers based abroad.
“The UAE is a unique place from an Indian point of view,” Seghal said. “A large Asian population is in the UAE, and that was important for us. Secondly, the season time works perfectly for us.
“It would have been a good stepping stone for us to get back into sports, that is why we entered into it.
“While it is an international league, and in the future it will have more scope in the overall global arena, first things first we need to build it in India and the UAE.
“Though UAE is the home of the league, I think we can make it more popular in India as well, because of the uniqueness of the league. It is not belonging to a country.”
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Brief scores:
Scotland 371-5, 50 overs (C MacLeod 140 no, K Coetzer 58, G Munsey 55)
England 365 all out, 48.5 overs (J Bairstow 105, A Hales 52; M Watt 3-55)
Result: Scotland won by six runs
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Juliet, Naked
Dir: Jesse Peretz
Starring: Chris O'Dowd, Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke
Two stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
SPECS
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Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
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- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
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- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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Results
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Scoreline:
Everton 4
Richarlison 13'), Sigurdsson 28', Digne 56', Walcott 64'
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)
Company%20profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The%20specs
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Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
'Unrivaled: Why America Will Remain the World’s Sole Superpower'
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
