Latest news with #GForceCricketAcademy
Khaleej Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
Dubai: How an 82-year-old man played cricket with teenagers and inspired them
At a time when Lamine Yamal, FC Barcelona's Spanish teen sensation, and Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the 14-year-old IPL wonderkid, have astounded the world with their explosive talent and youthful flair, an octogenarian in Dubai is quietly inspiring the UAE's young cricketers to work hard for a shot at glory. Freddy Sidhwa is not a legendary cricketer, but his passion for the game is the stuff of legend. The 82-year-old Dubai-based Indian businessman still plays cricket every weekend at Ocean Fair Cricket Ground, a scenic cricket facility he built in the Dubai Investment Park. A left-arm spinner, Sidhwa even claimed the wickets of Brendon McCullum, Rashid Khan and Dale Steyn in community matches at Lord's Cricket Ground in London. But more than those unforgettable moments at the world's most iconic cricket stadium, it's Sidhwa's unwavering commitment to the game that has inspired many in the UAE. Gopal Jasapara, head coach of Dubai-based G Force Cricket Academy, recently took his Under 14 team for a match with Sidhwa's side at Ocean Fair Cricket Ground. 'I wanted my boys to learn from Mr Sidhwa about passion and discipline. I had 12 and 13-year-old boys who played against an 82-year-old man,' Jasapara told the Khaleej Times. 'He is 82, but he still plays every Sunday. He never leaves the ground until the end of the match. To see his passion is an incredible experience.' The secret to Sidhwa's fitness is his discipline, as he wakes up at 3 every morning and practices yoga to keep his body and mind in perfect shape. "Everything is in your mind, you have to be mentally strong. If you are a mentally strong person, you can achieve everything," Sidhwa had said during an interview with Khaleej Times in 2023 after playing a game of T20 cricket at his ground. It was a big motivation for the G Force Academy team to see Sidhwa give his heart and soul to the game. 'You know he also built a cricket team, brought players from Pakistan and India and gave them jobs. It's very hard to find people like him,' Jasapara said. 'So sharing the cricket ground with him was not only a great experience for our boys, but it also taught them important lessons that will hopefully help them in every aspect of life, not just cricket.'
Khaleej Times
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Dubai: A laser-engraved tribute to India's Champions Trophy heroes
Barely five days after fireworks illuminated Dubai Sports City following India's memorable win over New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final, cricket-loving UAE residents from the South Asian country arrived at the Shyam Bhatia Cricket Museum to celebrate the glorious triumph of Rohit Sharma's team. For Shyam Bhatia, a Dubai-based Indian businessman and a passionate promoter of the sport whose one-of-a-kind museum nestles elegantly in the backyard of his Jumeirah residence, cricket is a celebration of life. 'I remember we had our first celebrations at our residence after India had won the first T20 World Cup in 2007. I was at the final in South Africa and then when I returned home, we had a big party here,' Bhatia said during the celebrations at his residence on Friday. Among the many glorious collections in Bhatia's museum is a cricket bat signed by the players of India's 2007 T20 World Cup-winning team. The evergreen cricket enthusiast has a new addition to his museum, a laser-engraved memento depicting the triumphant Indian team after the 2025 Champions Trophy final. The memento was presented to Bhatia by Akbar Sura, Owner, Crystal Gallery LLC, during the ceremony. 'I cannot think of any other individual who has done so much for the game of cricket,' Sura said of Bhatia who also donates cricket equipment in countries like Ukraine and Japan to help the game grow at the grassroots level. 'All these initiatives have been privately funded, the effort that has gone into it, is something unthinkable. So this is something I have always appreciated about him and that's why I am so happy that I was able to contribute in a small way,' the Indian expat added. Sura then revealed how he created a memento for Bhatia to celebrate India's Champions Trophy victory. 'I wanted to create something unique and exquisite and something that could be most appropriate for the occasion,' he said. 'We needed a photograph of the team celebrating with the trophy, again it was very challenging for me to identify the right photograph because the process that we do is laser engraved process. 'So we used a computer-directed laser beam to create an image without affecting the outer surface of the crystal. And this was done in a 3D concept. Every player's expression in that picture has been captured. We had limited time to do this, but what we created was very satisfying.' Meanwhile, Gopal Jasapara, head coach of the Dubai-based G Force Cricket Academy, said the Indian team deserved all the accolades. 'It was wonderful to celebrate India's victory at Mr Bhatia's place. This Indian team has been brilliant in the white-ball format,' he said. 'I know some critics are talking about India's advantage of playing all matches in Dubai. Yes, they had a very strong team for the conditions in Dubai, but don't forget they trained at the ICC Academy where the wickets were completely different. 'Also, regardless of the conditions, you have to play good cricket to win matches, and they played very good cricket in the tournament.' Mohamed Lokhandwala, an Indian expat and a former UAE national cricket team manager, feels privileged to have witnessed the Indian juggernaut in Dubai. 'It's a blessing in disguise, it was a tournament organised in Pakistan by the PCB. India refused to travel so the matches were played in Dubai. As cricket fans, it was great for us. And brilliant performance from the Indian team, they didn't even lose a single match,' he said. 'I have seen cricket here in this country when there were no grass pitches. It's amazing to see this transformation where we have top international events regularly. 'So we feel lucky that India got to play all their matches in Dubai and won every match to take the trophy.'
Khaleej Times
22-02-2025
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
UAE residents feel helpless after last-minute ticket requests for India vs Pakistan match
As the cricket world is gearing up for Sunday's high-voltage ICC Champions Trophy clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan at Dubai International Stadium, it's natural for even the biggest stars like Virat Kohli and Babar Azam to feel the pressure. The stakes and the emotions are so high that even some legendary former players have admitted to switching off their TV sets to block out the noise ahead of the big game. Well, it's not just the players, even some UAE residents feel the pressure whenever these two South Asian giants clash on these shores. It's not the same kind of pressure, but it's a headache nevertheless as these residents — cricket coaches and administrators in the UAE — face a big demand for tickets from their friends and relatives. Inevitably, on most occasions, they are left with no option but to say no to their closest friends — people for who they would normally go out of their way to help. 'When it comes to getting tickets to India-Pakistan matches for our friends, we are helpless,' said Gopal Jasapara, head coach of the Dubai-based G Force Cricket Academy. 'People think it's easy for me to arrange tickets for everyone because I am a cricket coach in Dubai, but it doesn't work that way.' Jasapara then revealed that even a top former cricket official from India sent him a message, asking for four tickets for Sunday's match in Dubai. 'He was a big name in cricket administration in India once, but now it seems even he can't get tickets for his friends,' Jasapara said. Meanwhile, Tariq Butt, a former cricket umpire in the UAE who officiated in international matches at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, has once again been flooded with messages from friends. 'These people know that I have retired from the game a long time ago. But they are still asking me for tickets,' he said. 'The craze for an India-Pakistan game has remained the same. I remember in the 1990s, I also got calls from the Consulate General of Pakistan for tickets. We got them a few, but now it's impossible.' Mohamed Lokhandwala, a former UAE national cricket team manager, was stumped when an ex-India cricketer called him for tickets. 'He is a good friend, and we played club cricket together in Mumbai. Now he is asking for tickets. It's embarrassing when people like them also make this request,' said Lokhandwala before admitting that it has become almost impossible to get tickets online. 'I know a lot of people at our building in Dubai trying to get the online tickets, they got them for India-Bangladesh and India-New Zealand, none of them managed to get a single ticket for the match against Pakistan.' Mazhar Khan, general manager at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium who saw 'one kilometer-long queues for India-Pakistan tickets in the 1980s and 1990s, doesn't see any change in the situation. 'The demand is such that no cricket administration will be able to solve this because this is India vs Pakistan, the biggest rivalry in cricket,' Khan said.
