In recent years, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have been trying to bolster their soft power in several ways by promoting tourism, tweaking their immigration policies to attract more professionals and foreign students and focusing on promoting art and culture. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has taken the lead in this direction. In May 2017, the UAE government set up a UAE Soft Power Council which came up with a comprehensive strategy for the promotion of the country’s cultural and social attractions. 

Under Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has also been seeking to change its international image, and its Vision 2030 seeks to look beyond focusing on economic growth. In the Global Soft Power Index 2021, Saudi Arabia was ranked at number 24 and number 2 in the Gulf region after the UAE. It may be mentioned that Saudi Arabia, which in the past had a reputation for being socially conservative, has hosted women’s sports events and also hosted the G20 virtually last year.

Promotion of cricket

Another important step towards promoting soft power in the GCC is the attempt to popularize cricket in the Gulf. While the Sharjah cricket ground (UAE)  hosted many ODI (One Day International) tournaments and was witness to several thrillers between India and Pakistan, match-fixing allegations led to the Indian government banning the national team from playing cricket at non-regular venues for a duration of 3 years (for a period of 7 years from 2003, Sharjah did not get to host any ODI). 

The Pakistan cricket team has been playing its international home series at Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai for over a decade (since 2009) and the sixth season of the Pakistan Super League is also being played in the UAE. Sharjah has also hosted 9 test matches, the first of which was played in 2002).

Sharjah hosted part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament in 2014, and last year too the tournament was shifted to UAE due to Covid 19 (apart from Sharjah, matches were played at Dubai and Abu Dhabi). This year again the UAE  - home to a significant South Asian expat population - is likely to host the remaining matches of the IPL which had to be canceled due to the second wave of Covid19. 

ICC events

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to be held later this year (October-November 2021), which was actually to be hosted by India, could also be shifted not just to the UAE, but Oman as well. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is looking for an additional venue in the UAE, because a lot of cricket is being played there, and this may impact the pitches. 

The ICC while commenting on the possibility of the T20 World cup being hosted in the Middle East said: "The ICC Board has requested management [to] focus its planning efforts for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 on the event being staged in the UAE with the possibility of including another venue in the Middle East’.

GCC countries are keen not just to host cricketing tournaments, but also to increase interest in the game. While Oman has a team managed by an Indian businessman, Saudi Arabia has set up the SACF (Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation) in 2020 and it has started the national cricket championship which will have more than 7,000 players and 36 teams at the school level. 

Peshawar Zalmi, a Pakistani franchise T20 cricket team, representing the city of Peshawar, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province - which plays in Pakistan Super League - extended an invitation to the SACF to play a friendly match against it. Its owner Javed Afridi had extended the invitation to the Saudi Arabian team in April 2021.  

Only recently, SACF Chairman Prince Saud bin Mishal met India’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, to discuss ways for promoting the game in Saudi Arabia. He also visited the ICC headquarters in Dubai and, apart from meeting officials of ICC, also took a tour of the Sharjah cricket ground.

Advantages of GCC countries

GCC countries have several advantages over other potential neutral venues. First, the required infrastructure is already in place in some countries, and there is no paucity of financial resources which is very important. Second, there is a growing interest in the game in the region, and one of the important factors for this is the sizeable South Asian expat population, especially from cricket-crazy countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. 

Third, some former cricketers from South Asia, including India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - are not only coaching cricket teams but also have been roped in to create more enthusiasm about the game. 

Fourth, UAE along with other GCC countries could also emerge as an important venue for the resumption of long-stalled India-Pakistan cricketing ties.

If GCC countries other than UAE -- like Saudi Arabia and Oman  -- can emerge as important cricketing venues, their soft power appeal is likely to further get strengthened, especially vis-à-vis South Asia. South Asian expats, who have contributed immensely to the economic growth of the region, and former South Asian cricketers will have an important role to play in popularizing the game in the Gulf. Cricket, which is already an important component of the GCC--South Asia relationship, could help in further strengthening people-to-people linkages.

(The writer is a New Delhi-based policy analyst associated with The Jindal School of International Affairs, OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at tsmaini@jgu.edu.in)