DUBAI: Fans of India and Pakistan called for “peace” and more cricket between the two Asian giants ahead of the blockbuster clash at the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday.
The arch rivals will lock horns in Dubai in one of the biggest games of the tournament with an expected television audience of up to one billion people.
But matches between the two cricket-crazy nations are few and far between with India cutting bilateral ties with its neighbors since 2007.
“We should play each other more often. It is such a treat to see these two teams on the cricket field,” Mohammad Ashraf, a Pakistan national working in the United Arab Emirates, told AFP.
“Virat Kohli versus Hasan Ali, what a contest! Politicians should not spoil all this for their own gains. Let them play cricket. I pray for peace between the two nations.”
There have been protests in India with calls to boycott the match in the wake of recent killings of 11 migrant workers and minority Hindus and Sikhs in Indian-administered Kashmir.
There was a brief thaw in rivalry when Pakistan toured India for five limited-over matches in 2012-13 but since then have only met in multi-nation tournaments.
They last played at Manchester during the 50-over World Cup in 2019 and India was also urged to boycott that game.
“I brought a ticket for the game as soon as it went online. I mean you look forward to these contests, especially when you are far away from home,” Pankhuri Raj Mehta, an Indian who works in Abu Dhabi since 2017, told AFP. “I know there has always been trouble with Pakistan. But that’s for the politicians to sort out. I will enjoy the game with my husband.”
Tickets for the contest were sold out just hours after they went online and many private online channels are offering resale of the entry passes at ridiculous prices.
But the international Cricket Council (ICC) said the resold tickets would be invalid.
The excitement is palpable in Dubai but some see this as inappropriate due to tensions between the nations.
“I find this exercise pointless. People are being killed in the border area and we are playing cricket,” Raghuveer Singh, an Indian who is visiting Dubai for Expo 2020, told AFP. “First stop the bloodshed and then play as much as you want.”
The two countries have fought two wars over Kashmir – divided between the two nations – since their independence in 1947.
Virat Kohli’s India come into the contest with an unbeaten 5-0 record in the tournament.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said “records are meant to be broken” and the fans echo their captain’s sentiments.
“We will win inshallah (God willing). See it’s a new day,” said Hasan Sheikh, a Peshawar-born who drives a taxi in Dubai. “We have a good team with Babar as the captain and our bowling is great. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali will hurt India.”
Fans pray for ‘peace’ ahead of India-Pakistan T20 World Cup clash in Dubai today
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Fans pray for ‘peace’ ahead of India-Pakistan T20 World Cup clash in Dubai today
- The arch rivals will lock horns in Dubai in one of the biggest games of the tournament
- A television audience of up to one billion people is expected to watch the game
Young future stars of Saudi golf enjoy a moment alongside the big names at LIV Golf Riyadh
- Participants in ROSHN Rising Stars program to develop golfing talent in the Kingdom play friendly competition at Riyadh Golf Club before round 3 of the season opener tees off
- ‘Golf is such a fundamental sport for development … The values of golf can be correlated to the values of society: confidence, resilience and integrity,’ says LIV Golf’s Jake Jones
RIYADH: While much of the spotlight during LIV Golf’s 2026 season opener in Riyadh this week has of course been on the return of some of the sport’s biggest names for the new campaign, a new generation of Saudi golfers is also quietly taking its own first steps into the game.
Participants in the ROSHN Rising Stars program, an initiative designed to introduce and develop young golfing talent across the Kingdom, gathered at Riyadh Golf Club on Friday afternoon for a friendly competition a few hours before the third round of the main event teed off under the lights.
“The real focus is getting golf into the lives of young people in the Kingdom,” Jake Jones, LIV Golf’s senior vice president of impact and sustainability told Arab News as the young golfers took to the course under cloudy skies.
“We wanted to do something a little bit different, something sustained, with a long-term outcome, and that’s how this program was created.”
The program runs for 20 weeks, during which the participants receive weekly coaching and instruction sessions at Riyadh Golf Club from Golf Saudi professionals.
“This takes them from never having held a golf club before to reaching a point where they’ve now played in a competition,” Jones said.
The fact that the LIV Golf season opens in Riyadh provides another key benefit for the participants, as they get to experience the professional game up close, and this access to world-class players and events forms a key part of their journey.
“We give them exposure to our LIV Golf events, here and internationally,” Jones added.
Beyond this, and teaching people how to play the game, the program offers participants insights into the wider aspects of the world of golf, including career opportunities.
“They’ve had behind-the-scenes tours, pitch-and-putt sessions, long-drive competitions and visits to places like the media center,” Jones said. “It’s about showing them what it’s like not just to play golf, but work in the sport as well.”
Friday’s event in Riyadh marked the conclusion of the 20-week program for its participants.
“Today is really the celebration point,” Jones said. “We’re at the graduation phase of this journey, where they’ll compete in a three-hole challenge. We then crown a winner and celebrate with them back at the ROSHN Fan Village.”
As golf continues to grow in popularity in the region, Jones believes initiatives such as Rising Stars will have a lasting effect on the development of next generation of players.
“Golf is such a fundamental sport for development; it’s not just about physical activity and having fun,” he said. “The values of golf can be correlated to the values of society: confidence, resilience and integrity.
“Imagine playing golf and you miss the ball or you end up in the sand; you have to get back up and try again. You block the noise around you and focus on the ball to make the right shot.”
Jones highlighted in particular the importance of integrity as one of golf’s defining characteristics, and how that can help shape personal development.
“The rules of golf are reliant on you following them,” he said. “That sense of honesty and self-discipline is something young players can carry beyond the course” into the roles they play in their communities, societies and countries.
“The role that golf can have with young people in Saudi Arabia is actually another layer of baking in those core societal skills, to ensure that they are fit and robust for the future,” Jones added.
This is particularly important given the youthful nature of the Saudi population, more than half of which is under the age of 30, he said, and they now have the chance to benefit from golf in one way or another.
“Golf is now another avenue that they can explore. Whether it’s playing, working in the sport or simply finding a community, we want to give them another reason to get excited.
“We believe that golf can do all of that and, hopefully, it can spark a lasting passion among the Saudi youth.”
