An already full to capacity Dubai International Stadium was treated with some musical feast by Pakistan’s Ali Zafar even as the opening ceremony of the ILT20 took place here on Tuesday.
The 45-year-old singer had a holiday crowd eating out of his palms as he delivered a medley of hits, including the 2006 chart topper ‘Sun Re Sajaniya’.
Zafar was thrilled to participate in the opening ceremony of the star-studded cricket competition on UAE National Day.
“I have always been embraced by Dubai with so much love, and I am so grateful to everyone that comes out to watch my show.” “It’s a small world; there are millions from around the world living in this great city and it is no wonder why my fans feel at home here,” he added.
“It’s a huge privilege for me to perform at the UAE National Day and be part of the celebrations in this amazing country.”
The Emirati singer’s beautiful performance of the UAE National Anthem opened the stadium for fireworks before Zafar ran in under a cacophony of sound.
Zafar’s magical concert proved to be the perfect appetiser for fans, who turned up in huge numbers for an opening ILT20 match between defending champions Dubai Capitals and last year finalists Desert Vipers.
The fours season of the ILT20 – the UAE’s IPL-style T20 league, which started on Tuesday, has signed up some of the biggest names in world cricket including Alex Hales, Andre Russell, Fakhar Zaman, Lockie Ferguson and Naseem Shah.