India and Pakistan, fierce and bitter rivals, will play against one another after their horrendous military conflict and the resulting accusations and counter accusations in the upcoming 2025 Asia Cup T20 which will take place in Dubai and Abu Dhabi from September 9 to 28.
India has had to move the Asia Cup to the UAE because of political tensions with Pakistan. This has helped to save a host event for the continent and has even avoided facing the risk of cancellation altogether.
During 1984, Pakistan and India were not as hostile in comparison to what the two countries had to offer when the UAE first hosted the Asia Cup.
Mazhar, who is the General Manager of Sharjah Cricket, recalls the excitement from the UAE when the Indians and Pakistanis came together for the first Asia Cup and there was an added team, Sri Lanka.
“People went crazy when we announced the tournament and there was a mad rush for tickets. A lot was going on in the t20 so we had people all the way from India and Pakistan film industry and many more celebrities flying in for the tournament,” Khan stated.
“Sunil Gavaskar was the captain for India, and the captain for Pakistan was Zaheer Abbas while the captain for Srilanka was Duleep Mendis and I recall how the event was full of stars,
Mendis, a player which many people revered in Sri Lanka’s cricket history of the 80’s, will come back to the UAE for this edition of the Asia Cup as the head coach of Oman.
Birth of ACC
UAE gak lupa berkontribusi dalam dalam pembentukan Asian Cricket Council, dengan Abdul Rahman Bukhtir selaku pejabat cricket bersistem dari nei emirat yang berusaha mengembangkan sepakbola di Wilayah tersebut.
“As a matter of fact, the Asian Cricket Council was created in 1983, and Mr. Bukahir and the rest of the Emirati cricket delegates went to the meeting in 1983 where they decided to start the Asia Cup tournament, and we in fact hosted the first tournament in 1984,” says Khan.
“It was the first time the region hosted a major international cricket tournament, and guess what, the Asia Cup was the first official cricket tournament in the Middle East.”
“It was so much fun, the tournament we hosted at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, was our first major international tournament after we just finished building the venue. The Sharjah Cricket Stadium was the biggest international tournament we had just after building it,” Khan expressed
“All the matches sold out. Even if it was the first edition of the Asia Cup, it was really one of our best – we had a fully packed venue.
India triumphed
Just a few months after claiming the greatest cricketing upset on the planet by defeating the West Indies at the 1983 World Cup finals, India’s cricketing dominance was on full display once again at the inaugural Asia Cup as the team won both their matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan to clinch the title.
For Indian cricketing legend Dilip Vengsarkar, the first Asia Cup held in Sharjah was and still is a wonderful memory.
“The partnership with Surinder Khanna in which he scored some very good knocks helped us to win the tournament. This was the first time we were learning how to play a cricket tournament in the Middle East and it turned out to be a great tournament for us,” said the former Indian captain.
“Playing those matches Sharjah was awesome ‘cause the atmosphere was insane. The crowd was massive. The Indian and Pakistani expats in the UAE created a wonderful environment to play cricket in, so it was a privilege to play in those matches,” he said.
Now, as the Asia Cup is about to be held for a 5th time in the UAE after previously hosting the tournament in 1995, 2018, and 2022, Vengsarkar praised the cricket administrators in the UAE for their efforts in developing the sport.
“Previously, Sharjah was the only stadium. Now they have great stadiums in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. However, Sharjah was significant in advancing the sport in the UAE. ” He said.
Highlights
“A long time ago, they also started the Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS) for cricketers which was a good initiative. So, their contribution has been tremendous.