Abu Dhabi hosts record number of cricket matches in 2020-21 season

UAE capital was venue for total of 81 ICC-approved matches

Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi recently hosted the conclusion of the 2021 PSL. Courtesy Paul Radley

T Natarajan of Sunrisers Hyderabad celebrates the wicket of Kolkata Knight Riders' Nitish Rana during the IPL match in Abu Dhabi on September 26, 2020.

Preity Zinta, owner of Punjab Kings, during the match against Chennai Super Kings in Abu Dhabi on November 1, 2020.

Multan Sultans defeated Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL 2021 final on June 24. Courtesy PSL

Kolkata Knight Riders players celebrate the wicket of Saurabh Tiwary of Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi on September, 23, 2020. Sportzpics for BCCI

Kolkata Knight Riders' Navdeep Saini celebrates the wicket of Jos Buttler of Rajasthan Royals at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on October 3, 2020. Sportzpics for BCCI

Mumbai Indians btsamen and Kieron Pollard. Sportzpics for BCCI

Jasprit Bumrah of Mumbai Indians and Kieron Pollard in Abu Dhabi on September 23, 2020. Sportzpics for BCCI

Anushka Sharma, wife of Virat Kohli, at the Zayed Cricket Stadium. November 2, 2020. Sportzpics for BCCI

Saurabh Tiwary of Mumbai Indians plays a shot against Chennai Super Kings on September 29, 2020. Sportzpics for BCCI

Peshawar Zalmi ended Karachi Kings' hopes of retaining the Pakistan Super League title with victory in Abu Dhabi on June 21, 2021. Courtesy PSL

Abu Dhabi continued to make its mark a world-class destination for international sporting events, hosting a record number of cricket matches during the 2020-21 season.

Abu Dhabi Cricket (ADC) entered the record books having hosted more ICC-approved matches than any other global operation. Over the 11-month season that was ravaged by the pandemic across the globe, ADC hosted 81 games. With the support of the Emirates Cricket Board, the UAE hosted a total of 123 matches – a tally unsurpassed by any other nation.

With strict Covid-19 prevention protocols in place, ADC hosted the 2020 Indian Premier League, the Abu Dhabi T10, Pakistan Super League and international teams of Afghanistan, Ireland, and Zimbabwe across Test, ODIs, and T20s.

Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, UAE’s Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, and chairman of both the Emirates Cricket Board and Abu Dhabi Cricket Club, commented: “The hosting of such a large amount of cricket in the context of the pandemic is testament to the UAE’s leadership in the hosting and organising of high calibre, global tournaments. Abu Dhabi Cricket has further bolstered the UAE capital’s flourishing reputation as an unmissable cricketing destination this season.”

Matt Boucher, CEO of Abu Dhabi Cricket, said: “It is with immense gratitude that I thank the team at Abu Dhabi Cricket and the Government stakeholders including Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Abu Dhabi Police, Department of Culture & Tourism – Abu Dhabi, Department of Health – Abu Dhabi and the National Crisis & Emergency Management Authority for spearheading our strategic and collaborative response to the challenges the Covid-19 pandemic presented, which resulted in such great success.”

The tournaments hosted by Abu Dhabi in the recently-concluded season include the Indian Premier League, UAE v Ireland ODI Series, Afghanistan v Ireland ODI Series, Abu Dhabi T10, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, and the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League.

And there is a lot more in store with the UAE set to host the remaining fixtures of the 2021 Indian Premier League and the T20 World Cup, along with Oman.