There were no turf wickets and not even a patch of green on the outfield of a nondescript ground at Sharjah in 1974 when the UAE hosted its first one-day cricket tournament — a year before the game’s governing body organised the inaugural ODI World Cup in England.
The Bukhatir League, a domestic one-day tournament born out of Emirati businessman Abdul Rahman Bukhatir’s incredible passion for cricket, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.
The golden jubilee edition of the oldest domestic 50-over tournament concluded on May 12 at the historic Sharjah Cricket Stadium with GHK Properties lifting the trophy after a thrilling win over UUDH Tuskers in the final.
But the significance of this tournament goes far beyond trophies. Over five decades of cricket in the UAE, the league has become a powerful symbol of Bukhatir’s visionary sporting ambitions.
“It all began on a cement wicket with a sandy outfield in Sharjah,” recalled Mazhar Khan, General Manager of the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
“The Bukhatir League later evolved from that modest ground into the present Sharjah Cricket Stadium, which was built in 1980.
“It has been a glorious journey, even though we lost two seasons — one due to Covid-19 and another because of international cricket commitments. So we held the 50th edition this year.”
The birth of cricket in the desert
The Bukhatir League was the first step to achieving the goal of bringing international cricket to the UAE.
“The league itself was born out of Mr Bukhatir’s passion for cricket. He studied and grew up in Pakistan, where he fell in love with cricket,” said Khan.
“After his return, when he established his companies in the UAE, he thought: ‘Why not bring cricketers from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, give them jobs, and let them represent the companies?’
“Soon, other companies followed the same model. A large number of expatriate cricketers — many of them first-class players from India and Pakistan — came here and eventually settled in the UAE.”
Big-name players
The veteran Sharjah-based Indian cricket administrator then explained how Bukhatir galvanised a domestic tournament back in the 1970s in the UAE — a country which is still not a full-member nation of the ICC (International Cricket Council).
“In those days, the standard of competition was extremely high because Mr Bukhatir brought top-quality cricketers to the league,” Khan said.
Even Pakistani leg-spinner Abdul Qadir, who went on to attain legendary status in world cricket with his bowling wizardry, was among the foreign players who played in the league.
“Abdul Qadir played here for a season while he was looking for a job in the UAE,” said Khan, who also played in the Bukhatir League for Al Shab and Air India in the 1970s and 1980s.
“At that time, many cricketers came to the UAE seeking employment opportunities, so the league featured several first-class players from Pakistan and India.”
Spurred on by the success of the league, Bukhatir built the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, which went on to become the most famous neutral venue for international cricket.
But Bukhatir brought international cricketers to the UAE even before the launch of the Sharjah Stadium in 1982.
“It was after the launch of the Bukhatir League that Mr Bukhatir invited the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) team to Sharjah. In many ways, you could say that was the first taste of international cricket in Sharjah because the PIA side included legends like Majid Khan, Asif Iqbal, Sarfraz Nawaz, Imran Khan and Wasim Bari,” Khan said.
“The PIA team played a couple of friendly matches against the Sharjah Club.”
Grassroots cricket
Bukhatir’s ambition saw the annual international tournaments in Sharjah blend world-class cricket with glamour, with the Who’s Who of Bollywood attending the matches.
But Bukhatir’s biggest dream was to give the home talent a platform to hone their skills. Whether it was the youngsters from South Asian expat communities or the Emirati players, everyone with a talent to bat and bowl earned a chance to perform in the Bukhatir League.
“That was always the main objective. National selectors closely monitored performances in the Bukhatir League while picking the UAE team,” Khan said.
“In fact, the UAE squad for its first World Cup participation in 1996 was largely built around players who performed strongly in the 1993, 1994 and 1995 editions of the Bukhatir League.”
What started as a six-team tournament in 1974 has now become a major platform for emerging talent.
“This season alone, four Under-19 players scored centuries in the league. That tells you a lot about the quality of young cricketers coming through and their ability to play the longer format of the game,” Khan said.
Bukhatir, whose recently launched autobiography was named ‘Winning Run’, takes great pride in the role played by the country’s oldest domestic tournament in laying the foundation for local players.
“Mr Bukhatir is celebrated in global cricket for bringing international tournaments and top stars to the UAE. But he always followed the Bukhatir League very closely because he invested heavily in the UAE’s club cricketers,” Khan said.
“To sustain a 50-over tournament for five decades is remarkable. It is a testament to his passion for cricket.”
Source: Khaleej Times