‘Bigger and bigger’: Baseball United inaugural season edges closer

Caption: Kash Shaikh, Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder, Baseball United. (Supplied/Baseball United)
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Updated 02 October 2025
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‘Bigger and bigger’: Baseball United inaugural season edges closer

  • All games will be played at Baseball United Ballpark in Dubai, starting Nov.14

DUBAI: The inaugural season of Baseball United, the first professional baseball league focused on the Middle East and South Asia, edged closer with the announcement that tickets are now on sale. The competition will feature Baseball United’s four founding franchises — Mumbai Cobras, Karachi Monarchs, Arabia Wolves, and Mid East Falcons — playing a total of 21 games in 30 days at Baseball United Ballpark at The Sevens in Dubai.

The season will begin with a three-game series between Mumbai and Karachi on Nov. 14, 15 and 16, and conclude with a best-of-three championship series on Dec. 12, 13 and 14 (if necessary). Dubai’s home team, the Wolves, play their first game on Nov. 18 against the Cobras.

The teams feature top professional players from 25 countries, including Japan, Philippines, Canada, Mexico, India, Pakistan, Germany, and the United States. Players have competed in top leagues such as Major League Baseball and the Nippon Professional Baseball League, and several were part of Baseball United’s previous events in Dubai over the past two years.

“After more than three years of building and so much work from so many people, we are finally ready for Season One,” said Kash Shaikh, chairman, CEO, and co-founder, Baseball United. “Each event we’ve hosted here in Dubai has gotten bigger and bigger, as more and more fans continue to fall in love with the ballpark experience. The grandstands at our games are full of families from all over the world, with a mix of new fans and longtime baseball lovers.

“We are grateful for the support from the community here in Dubai and across the GCC, and hope to host even more people at Baseball United Ballpark.”

Ticket prices range from 49 UAE dirhams ($13) for general admission seating, to 119 dirhams ($32) for reserved diamond club seating behind home plate. The games include a full food and beverage experience, with several local and international food vendors, and numerous bars.

Games will be played every day except Monday, with reduced pricing on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Following last month’s pre-sale, limited tickets remain for the opening weekend series between Mumbai and Karachi.

The league will also take a short break during the National Day holiday, with promotional activities scheduled in partnership with Emirates Dubai 7s. The season’s full schedule is available on baseballunited.com.

Baseball United was co-founded by Shaikh and several MLB legends, including Hall of Famers Barry Larkin, Mariano Rivera, and Adrian Beltre. The league’s February event averaged nearly four million viewers per game. Season One will be broadcast internationally, with official partners announced later this month.

Tickets for Baseball United Season One are on sale now exclusively on the District by Zomato app


Lola Yamaha ABT look for pace and points under the lights in Jeddah

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Lola Yamaha ABT look for pace and points under the lights in Jeddah

  • After missing points in Miami, team hope for better showing
  • Working hard, say drivers Zane Maloney and Lucas di Grassi

JEDDAH: Lola Yamaha ABT are returning to race under the lights of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, where they are hoping to add to their points tally for season 12 of the Formula E World Championship this Friday and Saturday.

Situated alongside the Red Sea, the 19-turn, 3-km track features a long start and finish straight, technical chicanes and sweeping turns. The Saudi Arabian doubleheader will once again be at night.

And also host the first pit-boost race of season 12 where very driver must complete a 30-second, 600-kilowatt boost in the pitlane, giving an extra 10 percent of energy.

Last time in Miami, the team showed good pace throughout the weekend where they narrowly missed out on points, with Zane Maloney finishing 11th and Lucas di Grassi 13th, but they are hopeful for Jeddah.

“After a generally positive race in Miami, where we were much more competitive, I’m looking forward to taking to the track again in Jeddah,” di Grassi said.

“Racing at night always presents different challenges, with changes in temperature and lighting.

“With not much time between these races, we’ve been putting in the hours in the sim (simulator) to ensure we are as prepared as possible to maximize on the improvements seen last time out.”

Maloney said: “Although we narrowly missed out on points in Miami, it was a positive weekend for the team with good pace that shows we are moving in the right direction.

“Jeddah is a fast, technical circuit, which will test the team in different ways, particularly with the addition of the first pit boost of the season. However, we’ve been working hard in the short race gap and I’m confident we can be in the mix to score points this weekend.”

“We saw positive steps forward with organization and processes behind the scenes in Miami and this showed with good race pace which we are hoping to translate to points here in Jeddah,” said Mark Preston, team principal of Lola Yamaha ABT.