Dubai Cricket Council (DCC) Chairman Abdul Rehman Falaknaz has offered to host a bilateral series between Pakistan and India in Dubai.
His statement comes after the venue witnessed a historic T20 World Cup encounter between the archrivals in which Pakistan registered an emphatic 10-wicket win over India.
While speaking to Khaleej Times, Falaknaz said that Dubai could be the perfect neutral venue for the arch-rivals.
“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,” Falaknaz was quoted as saying.
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“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,'” recalled the DCC chief.
“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.”
Due to political tensions, the two neighbouring countries have not played a bilateral series since 2012-13, when India hosted Pakistan for a limited-over series. Pakistan won the ODI series 2-1 and leveled the T20I 1-1.
The UAE, on the other hand, has successfully hosted the second leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the T20 World Cup over the past couple of months and has been a second home venue for the Pakistan series over the past decade.
“I’m 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 organisation. I would say we are lucky to be an alternative to India,” Falaknaz told the publication.
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“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 believes that the BCCI has seen Dubai's potential and the world’s richest cricket board could host more of its events in Dubai in the future.
“I would invite them to come and hold their IPL, start here and finish in India or start in India and finish in Dubai. It all depends on what the BCCI wants to do. We are very friendly with them.”
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