����ֱ��

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

DUBAI: The West Indies’ Andre Fletcher capped a day of drama at the first-ever DP World ILT20 player auction, emerging as the most expensive player with a price tag of a whopping $260,000.

MI Emirates outbid rivals to secure the explosive batter for a fourth consecutive season. Close behind was England’s Scott Currie, snapped up by Dubai Capitals for $250,000.

England’s Liam Dawson led the pack amongst the pacers acquired for $170,000 by Gulf Giants while Naveen-ul-Haq was secured for $100,000 by MI Emirates.

UAE pacers were the flavor of the auction, with Junaid Siddique going to Sharjah Warriorz for $170,000 (Right-to-Match), making him their most expensive buy. Muhammad Rohid also drew a six-figure deal, going to MI Emirates for $140,000 (RTM).

Some of the standout performers from the DP World ILT20 Development Tournament also converted their success into franchise deals at the auction.

UAE pacer Haider Razzaq, the leading wicket-taker in Sharjah Warriorz Development’s title-winning campaign earlier this year, was purchased by Gulf Giants for $50,000.

Player of the Tournament, Sanjay Pahal, an all-rounder who impressed throughout, was retained by Desert Vipers for $10,000. Raees Ahmed, who was amongst the top three run-getters, went back to Sharjah Warriorz at his base price of $10,000.

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders eagerly pursued Scotland’s Brandon McMullen for $110,000, while also picking up Michael Pepper and Unmukt Chand at their base price of $40,000, along with England’s George Garton for $10,000.

Their Associate Nation pool was reinforced by Kuwait’s Adnan Idrees ($10,000), while the UAE core featured Ibrar Ahmad ($22,000, RTM), Ajay Kumar ($10,000) and Abdul Manan Ali ($10,000).

Desert Vipers acquired Pakistan stars Fakhar Zaman and Naseem Shah at their base price of $80,000 apiece, along with Afghanistan leggie Qais Ahmed ($40,000). They also secured Scotland’s Tom Bruce for $80,000 and brought in Pakistan’s Hasan Nawaz at $40,000.

Their Associate signings saw UAE keeper Vriitya Aravind ($10,000) join Bilal Tahir ($10,000), while Faisal Khan made history as the first ����ֱ��n player bought at the auction, picked up at his base price of $10,000.

The Dubai Capitals followed their big splash for the young Currie by opting for experience.

Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi and England’s Tymal Mills were among their headline overseas pick at $80,000, while the UAE’s Farhan Khan and Muhammad Farooq were secured for $10,000 each.

To round out their haul, they added Kuwait’s Anudeep Chenthamara ($10,000) and ����ֱ��’s Usman Najeeb ($10,000).

Gulf Giants became the first team to complete their squad. They snapped up South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi and Netherlands’ pacer Fred Klaassen for $40,000 each, and England’s Sean Dickson at $10,000.

The franchise also strengthened their bowling department through England’s Chris Wood and West Indies’ Ramon Simmonds with both pacers coming in at $40,000 each. 

Their Associate Nation haul included Kuwait’s Meet Bhavsar ($14,000) and ����ֱ��’s Ishtiaq Ahmad ($16,000), with the UAE’s Asif Khan ($26,000) and Zuhaib Zubair’s $10,000 (RTM) adding to their UAE core.

The MI Emirates, alongside their record signing of Fletcher, added Bangladesh’s Shakib Al-Hassan for $40,000 and England all-rounder Jordan Thompson for $48,000.

They further diversified with Associate Nations players including the US’ Nosthush Kenjige, UAE’s Zahoor Khan, Kuwait’s Mohammad Shafiq and ����ֱ��’s Zain ul-Abidin, all at $10,000.

Sharjah Warriorz roped in South African all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius at $120,000 and English leg-spinner Nathan Sowter for $100,000. They also locked in pacers Jayden Seales and Taskin Ahmed at $80,000 each.

Warriorz spent big on the UAE’s Wasim Akram, bagging the pacer for $55,000. Kuwait’s Mohamed Nawfer and Mohammed Aslam were picked up for $14,000 each. Also, the UAE’s Ethan D’Souza, Zimbabwe’s Richard Ngarava and US’ Harmeet Singh went to Warriorz for $10,000 each.

The DP World ILT20 season four begins on Tuesday, Dec. 2 and concludes with the final on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.