The Indian Premier League is going to get start from today, but not in India. Yes like in 2009, this time also the IPL has been shifted outside India due to general elections happening in the country. Although this time around only a part of the IPL is going to be played in UAE and the second phase will be played in India next month. The 7th edition of IPL is going to be played in three different stadiums of UAE. It is the Pakistan’s national cricket team who plays their most of the home games in all these three venues, so for others; they probably have a very little knowledge about these grounds. So let us have a look at these three different venues on which the IPL is going to happen this year.
Dubai International Cricket Stadium
Actually the Dubai International Cricket Stadium is a multipurpose stadium , but it is mainly used for cricket. It was formerly known as Dubai Sports City. The stadium is having a capacity to accommodate 25, 000 fans which can be expandable to 30, 000, if required. The Dubai Properties are the owners of the stadium. The stadium was unveiled in the year 2009 and was constructed by Architekten von Gerkan, Marg und Partner, Germany. The two ends of the stadium are known as ‘Emirates Road End’ and ‘Dubai Sports City End’. The first test match on this ground was played in 2010 between Pakistan and South Africa and first ODI was played in 2009 between Pakistan and Australia. The Dubai Cricket Stadium is also known for its unique lighting system. The system is called ‘Ring of Fire’ and unlike other cricket stadiums of the world the stadium doesn’t have the huge floodlight towers to light the game, but it has lights fixed all around the round roof of the stadium which helps to minimize the shadows on the ground.
IPL matches to be played here:
19th April: RCB Vs MI
19th April: KKR Vs DD
23rd April: RR Vs CSK
25th April: SRH Vs DD
25th April: CSK Vs MI
28th April: KXIP Vs RCB
30th April: MI Vs SRH
Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
One of the newest stadiums of the world cricket, Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi was established in the year 2006. It has a capacity to hold 20, 000 cricket fans. The stadium has been managed by the Pakistan Cricket Board and thus the first ever International match was also played by Pakistan against India in 2006 and Since the Pakistan cricket team is using this stadium as their home ground.
IPL matches to be played here:
16th April: MI Vs KKR
18th April: CSK Vs KXIP
18th April: SRH Vs RR
21st April: CSK Vs DD
26th April: RR Vs RCB
26th April: KKR Vs KXIP
29th April: KKR Vs RR
Sharjah Cricket Stadium
One can easily say that the Indian cricket will return to Sharjah after a long gap. It is the oldest cricketing venue in the Gulf and has record to hold most number of ODIs in a single stadium. In 1980s Sheikh Abdul Rahman Bukhatir a ardent cricket fan established CBFS (Cricketer’s Benefit Fund Scheme) and started to organize international cricket tri and quadrangular series on this venue. After a few years they had few differences with BCCI and ICC and suddenly Sharjah Cricket Stadium went into a hibernation. But since the Pakistan is looking for venues for their home matches Sharjah Cricket Stadium is back and now even Indian players will play their cricket over here in coming weeks. The stadium can hold 27, 000 people and along with Pakistan, the UAE and Afghanistan national teams too play their home games here.
IPL matches to be played here:
17th April: DD Vs RCB
20th April: RR Vs KXIP
22nd April: KXIP Vs SRH
24th April: RCB Vs KKR
27th April: DD Vs MI
27th April: SRH Vs CSK
