Agency :
A cricket match on a Friday at the Sharjah Stadium means packed house and it was no different when Pakistan took on New Zealand for the second ODI and among the 14,000-odd fans was Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, who brought international cricket to the UAE.
He not only brought cricket to the shores of the UAE but helped past cricketers from around the world with a benefit purse during each tournament played at the first ever off shore cricketing venue.
The India-Pakistan cricketing clash is a big draw anywhere in the world and the Sharjah Stadium has been the venue where the two teams have played some historical matches, not to forget Javed Miandad’s famous last-ball six in 1986.
Obviously, the pioneer of cricket in the UAE would like to see these two teams lock horns here again. “I have heard about the proposal of India playing a series against Pakistan in the UAE. I hope that project will take place,” he told Khaleej Times when asked about the prospect of India and Pakistan once again playing on the turf of the Sharjah Stadium, which holds the record of hosting 217 ODIs.
On the subject of a tri-series involving India, Pakistan and a third nation like in the past, Bukhatir was non-committal and said: “There is too much cricket happening now. In the past there weren’t too many tournaments and teams had ample time to be part of the Sharjah tournaments.” While reminiscing packed Sharjah Stadium watch in awe Sachin Tendulkar’s 1998 Desert Storm, Bukhatir said: “It is always nice to watch cricket with a full house of fans here.” Commenting on the Pakistan-New Zealand duel played in the middle under lights, he said: “Both the teams are playing well and it is nice watch them.”
“The response is really good. I hope it continues like this,” said the octogenarian patriarch of cricket in UAE when asked about how he felt after seeing the fans’ response for the matches in Sharjah. The Sharjah Stadium, which attracted a lot of fans during the India-Pakistan matches starting from the 80s, has also been a home for Pakistan’s Test matches since 2002. When asked whether he watched New Zealand’s superb innings victory in the third and final Test in Sharjah, he replied: “I watched it on TV. It was really good. I was travelling then.
