UAE thrilled to be IPL hosts

The sports fraternity of the United Arab Emirates is thrilled to bits after news emerged about the decision of the BCCI to play at least 16 first leg matches in the Middle East.

Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are slated to be the most likely venues for the million dollar league which has caught the attraction all across the cricket playing countries.

N Srinivasan, the BCCI president hoped for the successful staging of matches in the UAE. It is a huge opportunity for the UAE and Im sure they can put up a good show and make it a huge success", he said to Gulf News.

UAE was finalised as one of the venues after South Africa's stiff demand of Rs 180 crore to host the IPL, was turned down by the Indian board and team owners.

The massive Indian diaspora in the Middle East is said to have made the Gulf nation preferred as first choice.
"The UAE was selected to host the matches due to the presence of a large Indian population and so we expect the response for our matches to be excellent. In fact, Bangladesh was also under consideration but the fan factor as well as the cheap travel expenses made us opt for UAE," T C Mathew, IPL Governing Council member as well as the chairman of BCCI's National Cricket Academy said.

The fact that UAE was just an hour and a half behind the Indian time-zone also went in favour of the venues. "The time difference with India and UAE is just one-and-a-half hours and it will be very beneficial for our viewers in India. We were also very impressed with the venues in UAE, especially the Dubai and Abu Dhabi stadiums, which are top-class, and Sharjah Stadium, which looks excellent after undergoing renovation, Mathew said.
With Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah projected as the venues, preparations have already started for the successful hosting of the matches. David East, Chief Executive of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), told Gulf News: All our venues here will be available for the matches. Its a great honour to be selected to host IPL matches. Our board will now work closely with the IPLs event management team to deliver 16 games of high-quality cricket entertainment.
Sharjah, long shunned as an international venue by the Indians, since the match-fixing episode in 2000 is also gearing up to host the show-piece tournament. We will be delighted to host IPL matches here and give the fans another opportunity to enjoy cricket at a venue that has entered the Guinness Book of World Records through hosting the highest number of One Day Internationals," Sharjah Cricket Stadium Chief Manager, Mazhar Khan said.