Baseball United announces Arrieta as official uniform partner

Arrieta will provide uniforms for Baseball United's four franchises. (Baseball United)
Short Url
Updated 26 August 2023
Follow

Baseball United announces Arrieta as official uniform partner

  • Mexican brand will be exclusive provider of apparel for Mumbai Cobras, Karachi Monarchs, Dubai Wolves and Abu Dhabi Falcons

DUBAI: Baseball United, the first-ever professional baseball league focused on the Middle East and Indian subcontinent, has announced that Mexico-based uniform and equipment provider Arrieta will serve as its official uniform partner.

Arrieta will provide three sets of colorways for each of Baseball United’s founding franchises for this November’s Dubai showcase, as well as officially licensed jerseys for fans to purchase at baseballunited.com.

Baseball United’s founding franchises include the Mumbai Cobras, Karachi Monarchs, Dubai Wolves and Abu Dhabi Falcons. Collectively, this group of teams represent the first-ever professional baseball franchises in the history of India, Pakistan and the Arabian Peninsula.

Arrieta — celebrating its 50th anniversary this year — provides uniforms for several franchises in both the Mexican and Dominican professional baseball leagues. The deal with Baseball United is its first official league-wide partnership.

“We are very grateful to welcome Arrieta into the Baseball United family,” said Kash Shaikh, Baseball United’s CEO, chairman and majority owner.

“Since our very first conversations with the Arrieta team, it’s been clear that we share the same passion and commitment to growing the game of baseball. The Arrieta family has been providing high-quality jerseys and uniforms for some of the best professional baseball teams in Latin America for the last five decades. Now, we are excited to partner with them to extend that level of baseball excellence to the Middle East and South Asia — a bat and ball-crazed region that’s nearly 15 times larger in size.”

In addition to providing uniforms for each team, Arrieta will create custom jerseys for special giveaways and promotions, as well as power the fan-focused line of official jerseys. Jerseys are now available for purchase in the US, Mexico, and Canada, with plans for sale and shipping in the UAE, India and Pakistan later this year.

“We are honored to partner with Baseball United to bring the first official professional baseball jerseys to the Middle East and South Asia,” said Joaquin Arrieta, chief brand officer of Arrieta. “We have been truly inspired by what Kash and the Baseball United team are building, and we can’t wait to see history made in Dubai in just a few short months. My father began this business based on his love for the game of baseball, and to now see that love spread across oceans is a very special moment for my family and the whole Arrieta team.”

Baseball United’s inaugural showcase will take place from Nov. 10-12 at Dubai International Stadium — a cricket pitch that Baseball United will transform into a baseball field. The opening night will feature the Mumbai Cobras taking on the Karachi Monarchs. To join the waiting list for tickets, visit baseballunited.com.


India and Pakistan set for World Cup blockbuster as boycott averted

Updated 4 sec ago
Follow

India and Pakistan set for World Cup blockbuster as boycott averted

  • With bilateral cricket a casualty of their relations, emotions run high whenever the neighbors meet in multi-team events
  • For Pakistan, opener Sahibzada Farhan has looked in fine form but Babar Azam’s strike rate continues to polarize ​opinion

India and Pakistan will clash in the Twenty20 World Cup in Colombo ​on Sunday, still feeling the aftershocks of a tumultuous fortnight in which Pakistan’s boycott threat — later reversed — nearly blew a hole in the tournament’s marquee fixture.

With bilateral cricket a casualty of their fraught relations, emotions run high whenever the bitter neighbors lock horns in multi-team events at neutral venues.

India’s strained relations with another neighbor, Bangladesh, have further tangled the geopolitics around the World Cup.

When Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the 20-team field for refusing to tour India over safety ‌concerns, the regional ‌chessboard shifted.

Pakistan decided to boycott the Group A ​contest ‌against ⁠India in ​solidarity ⁠with Bangladesh, jeopardizing a lucrative fixture that sits at the intersection of sport, commerce, and geopolitics.

Faced with the prospect of losing millions of dollars in evaporating advertising revenue, the broadcasters panicked. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) held hectic behind-the-scenes parleys and eventually brokered a compromise to salvage the tournament’s most sought-after contest.

Strictly on cricketing merit, however, the rivalry has been one-sided.

Defending champions India have a 7-1 record against Pakistan in the ⁠tournament’s history and they underlined that dominance at last year’s ‌Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

India beat ‌Pakistan three times in that single event, including a ​stormy final marred by provocative gestures ‌and snubbed handshakes.

Former India captain Rohit Sharma does not believe in the “favorites” tag, ‌especially when the arch-rivals clash.

“It’s such a funny game,” Rohit, who led India to the title in the T20 World Cup two years ago, recently said.

“You can’t just go and think that it’s a two-point victory for us. You just have to play good cricket ‌on that particular day to achieve those points.”

INDIA’S EDGE

Both teams have opened their World Cup campaigns with back-to-back wins, yet ⁠India still appear ⁠to hold a clear edge.

Opener Abhishek Sharma and spinner Varun Chakravarthy currently top the batting and bowling rankings respectively.

Abhishek is doubtful for the Pakistan match though as he continues to recover from a stomach infection that kept him out of their first two matches.

Ishan Kishan has reinvented himself as a top-order linchpin, skipper Suryakumar Yadav has regained form, while Rinku Singh has settled into the finisher’s role in India’s explosive lineup.

Mystery spinner Chakravarthy and the ever-crafty Jasprit Bumrah anchor the spin and pace units, while Hardik Pandya’s all-round spark is pivotal.

For Pakistan, opener Sahibzada Farhan has looked in fine form but Babar Azam’s strike rate continues to polarize ​opinion.

Captain Salman Agha will bank on ​spin-bowling all-rounder Saim Ayub, but the potential trump card is off-spinner Usman Tariq, whose slinging, side-arm action has intrigued opponents and fans alike.