Academies of cricket stars wide off the mark in the UAE
Kuumar Shyam (Abu Dhabi)The UAE's fantastic infrastructure for cricket and sports in general is a boon for expatriate families, while star cricketers also love travelling to the Emirates for business and pleasure. Yet, when it comes to coaching academies marrying the two, the sweet spot of success has been missing.Last week, things came to a head when around 35 families and a few cricket coaches were left in the lurch when branches of Rohit Sharma's CricKingdom Academy at three Dubai schools, managed by local partners Grasport, shut down.While a statement from CricKingdom has insisted it will restart and take a fresh guard, the incident is the latest in a pattern where academies or projects riding on big names such as MS Dhoni, Ravi Ashwin, Yuvraj Singh and even former UAE coach Robin Singh have failed to build an innings.In a report by Telecom Asia Sport, a local academy chief Sudhakar Shetty said: 'Parents are sometimes too gullible. They pay hefty fees expecting personal attention from these stars. Disappointment sets in quickly, they pull out their children, and franchise owners are left to cover all expenses. In the long run, sustainability becomes impossible.' Shetty has been running the MaxTalent academy for many years.Back in 2016, Dhoni launched his signature centre at Springdale Academy in collaboration with local partners while at the peak of his career. Soon after, Ashwin's Chennai-based GenNext Cricket Academy partnered with Kings' Schools in Dubai. Both have since folded.Sharma, who followed Dhoni in the captaincy role, also allowed his name to be used as a rubber stamp by people who hoped the name alone would attract students while he was clearly kept busy by his playing schedule. And the academies, often set up with much fanfare and high expectations, promise aspiring cricketers not only expert coaching but also an encounter with their idols.Girban Chakraborty, a former first-division cricketer who was associated both with the Dhoni and Sharma academies, told Telecom Asia Sport that the problem is twofold. 'Firstly, none of the big names have shown the accountability to visit their academies after the inauguration – let alone every few months. The franchise owners soon find the economics of licence fees, facility rentals and coaches' salaries unsustainable.'Among other names, former England cricketers Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, and Sri Lankan great Aravinda de Silva have also failed to launch academies in the UAE after making initial plans. CricKingdom's four other academies with Sharma in India, Germany, Singapore and Qatar have had no issues. The closures in Dubai came less than a year after the multinational chain CricKingdom ventured out with a Dubai-based company Grasport as partners. Within the first quarter alone, the signs were apparent with coaches going unpaid for months. A statement from CricKingdom is still maintaining that the operation will be revived in a new format, while submitting a detailed timeline to show how they tried to resolve the matter with Grasport, whose founder Suhas Pudota has admitted to the media that he miscalculated the costs and revenues, while offering yet another promise that he will return the dues. While parents will move their children – aspiring to be the next Rohit Sharma – on to other options, most of the coaches, certified by the world body International Cricket Council and who moved to Dubai for this job offer, are now left high and dry without being fully paid.In theory, these initiatives bridge the gap between talent-rich regions and professional coaching infrastructure. However, sustainability depends not only on the stature of the cricketer involved but also on the strength of the local partnerships, operational structure and long-term vision.Mazhar Khan, a long-serving administrator of the Sharjah Cricket Council, believes there is already a strong grassroots ecosystem in the UAE and it is working.
'The Sharjah Cricket Academy, started in 1984, has groomed several national players. There are also committed local coaches in Abu Dhabi and Dubai who have proven their dedication over decades. Running academies by remote control – lending a big name but relying on locals to do all the work – simply doesn't work.'
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