The Chairman of the Dubai Cricket Council Abdul Rahman Falaknaz has expressed the desire to host India vs Pakistan matches in the future as he feels it can be the ideal neutral venue for both team teams. Recently, India and Pakistan locked horns in a mouth-watering encounter of T20 World Cup 2021 in Dubai.
The UAE has been hosting quite a few high-profile matches in recent times. After hosting the entire IPL 2020 in the UAE, they successfully hosted the second halves of the IPL 2021 and PSL 2021. After the covid-19 situation didn’t allow the T20 World Cup 2021 to take place in India, BCCI shifted the tournament to the UAE.
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India and Pakistan played a high-intense game in Dubai on October 24, where Pakistan shattered the Indian hoodoo by registering their maiden victory against India in a World Cup game. Now, Abdul Rahman Falaknaz wants more India-Pakistan games to take place in the UAE.
“The best thing would be to get India-Pakistan matches here. When Sharjah used to host India and Pakistan all those years ago, it was like a war. But it was a good war, it was a sporting war and it was fantastic.
I remember [Bollywood actor] Raj Kapoor came once with his family. During the awards night, he took the mic and said, ‘How wonderful it is to have these India-Pakistan battles in Sharjah. Cricket brings people together, cricket has brought us together, and let us remain this way. So, this is what we would like to do. If we can convince India to come and play here against Pakistan once a year or twice a year, it would be fantastic,” said Falaknaz, as quoted in Khaleej Times.
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He also mentioned that they are lucky to be an alternative venue to India.
“I am very proud because the UAE as a whole and especially Dubai in particular hosts anything to the best. And of course, T20 World Cup is also a sign of good organization. I would say we are lucky to be an alternative to India. I am looking forward to hosting more India-Pakistan matches in Dubai. I will try and convince my friends in the BCCI for the same. If they are ready to play Pakistan, we will be more than happy to offer our venue,” Falaknaz added.
