New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) Royal Desert Champions owner Amit Narang believes the Abu Dhabi T10 can broaden its appeal by offering spectators a compact, high-intensity cricket experience while bringing together leading international players in a single tournament.

As the franchise prepares to enter the competition, Narang said the format’s short duration, the presence of cricket-following communities in the UAE, and the prospect of attracting more Indian players could strengthen the league’s connection with audiences.

Narang, a UAE-based entrepreneur and former international banker, said the T10 format can offer spectators a full evening of cricket within a limited time, with two matches scheduled on a typical day. He drew a comparison with football to explain why a shorter contest need not come at the expense of the live viewing experience.

“It is based on the soccer format. Soccer is 90 minutes. This is 90 minutes. Soccer is a very popular game as well, right, and there are two matches a day. So actually the crowd is coming in, and people are watching this for exactly 40 overs a day, and some days there’ll be three. So, you know, it’s that kind of a format where you can have two matches in the same time, and the crowd is excited as well and watching 44 great players coming in the field and playing instead of 22,” Narang told IANS in an exclusive interaction.

The franchise’s immediate task, according to Narang, is to establish a competitive team and develop a clear identity before expanding its commercial activities. He said Royal Desert Champions had prioritised its sporting structure in its debut season, bringing in experienced leadership and an international group of players.

“So you know we have milestones. There’s a year one milestone, there’s a year two milestone, and so on. We’ve done extremely well on our year one milestone. We have Robin Singh, who’s come in as our team director. He’s also been a head coach and a team director for the T10 league for four years in the past, and he won it three times.

“If you look at our plan for year one, we have the best team director that anybody could have had. We have a great set of people under him as coaching staff. We have the best T10 player who’s played T10 over the last few years, Nicholas Pooran, as our captain. We have some very good players in Phil Salt, in Rutherford, and so on and so forth. So we’re building a very nice competitive team. What’s also interesting is that the other teams have also gotten very, very competitive players because a league is as good as how many competitive matches happen.

“People come and watch good matches and close matches. So year one milestone for us is to have a smooth tournament and build our basic hygiene in terms of the quality of players and the quality of staff that comes in for us and delivers for us. Obviously, this is a very fast-tracked year, like I said earlier.

“So going forward, we build our brand. We’ve started the journey this year, but the focus this year is to have a smooth tournament. Next year will be a year when we start getting into more digital assets, into building the brand. Our journey over the next few years is to build a good, sound franchise with great players and good competitive games and start building on that as we go along in terms of our basic ethos that we want to bring in. We want to play fearless cricket. We want to play fair cricket. We want to play fast cricket. That’s really what we stand for,” he explained.

Narang also sees the UAE’s diverse population as an important factor in the league’s audience potential. With cricket followed across several South Asian communities in the country, he believes the tournament can draw support from beyond a single national fan base. The league’s broadcast presence in India is another avenue through which it expects to reach viewers familiar with its international players.

“India continues to be the largest cricketing market. Couple it with the fact that we are in the UAE and this league is in Abu Dhabi. And the largest population in the United Arab Emirates is of Indians. There are more Indians than UAE nationals. Therefore, it’s not only the attractiveness back home in India, but also within the UAE; the largest attraction is for Indians.

“But as the demographics allow, there are Indians, Pakistanis, Afghans, Bangladeshis, and Sri Lankans- all kinds of nationalities that are available in the UAE. And cricket is attractive for all Asian countries. So that’s one part where, you know, the crowds come in because the players come from all these countries and are very excited about it. As far as back home in India is concerned, the tournament is going live on Geostar this year for the first time and also on Star Sports.

“So there will be; there was always an audience in India, and it will continue to be a large audience in India. Right. Because the quality of players are such that they’re all players who are watched across IPL, other leagues, and people who watch them. People like watching them. On the possibility of more Indian cricketers featuring in the competition, Narang acknowledged the appeal such participation could have for fans, particularly in the UAE. He noted that Indian players who have represented the country in the past, including those who have retired or play only in leagues, have featured in the tournament over the years,” Narang mentioned.

With its initial focus on assembling a strong squad and establishing its identity, Royal Desert Champions will look to build its presence in the competition before setting more ambitious targets. Narang’s stated priorities are to deliver competitive cricket, develop the franchise’s brand and explore opportunities to bring more established international talent into the tournament in future seasons.

“This league has been very successful in terms of what it has attracted over the years. Including Indian fans. That speaks highly of the calibre of people who’ve played here or the cricketers who’ve played here. Indian players have also played here. But clearly, like you rightly said, Indian players who’ve either retired or who are playing league cricket have only come in and played. And they’re obviously welcome, and there is attraction towards Indian players. There’s no running away from that. And we hope to have more players come and play.

“There are players available, very good players available, and have played the league as well. If you look at all the large big names over the last 10 years who’ve played for India in the past, they have also come and played the league. So we look forward to obviously playing and working with some of them as well,” Narang stated.

Asked whether he had any particular Indian players in mind for future editions, Narang said the franchise had not had sufficient time to consider specific names for its inaugural campaign. He added that player selection would depend on the team management’s assessment of the roles required within the squad.

“Hopefully, if we talk next year, yes. Because this year has been so fast-tracked that we’ve just had no time really. I think we’ve built a very, very sound team already. I’m the wrong guy because Robin is who takes a call on which players fit into the playing 11 in terms of the roles. So maybe he’s the best guy to answer that,” he concluded.

--IANS

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