Rajasthan Royals are opening a new coaching academy in the UAE, with former Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer as head coach.
The IPL franchise will base their new venture, for six to 19-year-olds, at The Sevens, Dubai. It is only their second academy outside of India, the other being in Surrey in the UK.
Plans for the academy have been under discussion for the past six to nine months, long before the decision was taken to relocate the IPL to the UAE.
Jake Lush McCrum, Rajasthan’s chief operating officer, says he hopes the new coaching school will have a lasting impact on the game in the emirates.
“We were discussing this before the IPL was announced in the UAE, so it is a happy coincidence the IPL shifted across here,” Lush McCrum said.
“We want to further the grassroots development. We are not here for a one-off season. We want to invest in the country, invest in grassroots cricket here, grow the reach of our brand, and train people the Royals way.
“We believe we have different methodologies for developing players that are unique to our academies. We have regular audits of the academies to make sure they are following those approaches.”
The long-term plan is to have tournaments between the Royals academy sides from Dubai, the UK and India.
The Dubai centre will also be used to trial new technologies, influenced by baseball, with a view to implementing them in the training practices of the full IPL side in future.
________________
Bangalore v Rajasthan player ratings
________________
“This is a great opportunity to help grow our fan-base here 365 days per year,” Lush McCrum said. “We have been looking at the UAE for a while, but it is about finding the right partner, who has good experience and been successful here.
“It is a challenging thing coming to a country you have no experience in yourself. We wanted someone who could follow our Royals brand of cricket, and share that philosophy.”
That partnership is with a new company – Red Bear Sports – that is co-founded and run by Dougie Brown, the former UAE coach, and Will Kitchen, the former performance director of the Emirates Cricket Board.
“We are passionate about developing cricket in the UAE, and we were keen to find a partner to help us continue the work we have done in terms of player development for the past six or seven years,” Kitchen said.
“We want to bring to life the things we think are important to young people when trying to engage them in the game.
“If we can find people we think can progress to IPL, fantastic. But what we really want to do is try to make sure we can enable people to engage with coaches who are passionate about the game.”
Kitchen hopes to have 150 children enrolled in the academy by the end of the year. The initial intake will include six scholarships for girls, selected from a trial next week involving up to 22 players recommended by the ECB.
The new venture will be the first time a coaching academy has been based at The Sevens, which has three grass cricket ovals, as well as a number of sand grounds, adjacent to city’s rugby headquarters.
“We think the quality of the facilities are paramount to the experience,” Kitchen said. “There is no doubt in my mind that The Sevens is one of the best cricket facilities. We are blessed in the UAE to have four or five unbelievably high quality cricket facilities.
“I think back now to when I was a young player, at club grounds. The chance here, for young players to step on to the same facilities that IPL franchises train on is a real point of difference.
“We think the extra 10 or 15 minute commute [from Dubai] is worth it, to train somewhere that is not just high quality but genuinely inspiring.”
Super Bowl LIII schedule
What Super Bowl LIII
Who is playing New England Patriots v Los Angeles Rams
Where Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, United States
When Sunday (start time is 3.30am on Monday UAE time)
Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
The specs: 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn
Price, base / as tested: Dhxxx
Engine: 5.7L V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 556Nm @ 3,950rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 258hp at 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,400rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.4L/100km
Price, base: from D215,000 (Dh230,000 as tested)
On sale: now
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RoboCop%3A%20Rogue%20City
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETeyon%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENacon%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%205%2C%20Xbox%20Series%20X%2FS%20and%20PC%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
Teri%20Baaton%20Mein%20Aisa%20Uljha%20Jiya
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amit%20Joshi%20and%20Aradhana%20Sah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECast%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shahid%20Kapoor%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%2C%20Dharmendra%2C%20Dimple%20Kapadia%2C%20Rakesh%20Bedi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The biog
Name: Mohammed Imtiaz
From: Gujranwala, Pakistan
Arrived in the UAE: 1976
Favourite clothes to make: Suit
Cost of a hand-made suit: From Dh550
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
