Sharjah Cricket Stadium – Facts, Records, Capacity

Sharjah Cricket Stadium

The Sharjah Cricket Stadium has been one of the hot destinations for thousands of fans since 1984 – after hosting its first global event involving the Asian Cup. Its rapid and dramatic growth resulted from various one-day events, widespread in every cricket betting app. Have you ever thought of including the venue as one of the variables when analyzing possible results for pregame events? Well; In this case, you should probably consider the Sharjah stadium layout and overall conditions, which could be used as ideal grounds for making specific selections. 

Sharjah Cricket Stadium

We, of course, have other types of competitions, including the Test matches and T20s, which are barely played at this stadium in Sharjah. The venue remains relevant in the modern-day industry with the IPL 2020 being the most recent event help on this historic venue.

Despite the glorified status of this sporting facility, the Sharjah cricket stadium has also had a fair share of negative profiling. For instance, result-fixing claims were raised by several reporters, with Paul Condon’s 2001 investigative report terming the Sharjah cricket ground as a center for big scandals and corruption. 

 

History and Stadium Profile 

The facility was built in the early 1980s as an average-capacity venue to promote local cricketing. After milking from its admirable reputation, Sharjah cricket stadium capacity grew to host some popular events back in the days – mainly involving India, Pakistan, and national leagues from the two cricket-engrained countries. Its frugal initial capacity also grew from holding a meager population of 17K in the 80s to accommodate over 30000 people in 2014. 

Sharjah cricket association was established under the creative works of Abdul Rahman. He envisioned it as a project to empower existing and veteran talents.  A waver in reputation didn’t stop its well-earned recognition in the Guinness book of world records for hosting over 200 ODI events. The Sharjah cricket stadium records indicated 261 matches by 2019 – 240 ODIs, nine Test matches, and 14 T20s. The Sharjah Cricket Stadium still holds the record for hosting most ODI matches at a venue in the history of ODI cricket. 

 

The Highlights of Sharjah Developments

As you can see from this discussion, Sharjah Cricket's journey and transformation have been full of events – some good, others bad, or extremely bad. Let’s briefly highlight the significant developments of the venue’s time in existence: 

  • Established in 1980, and hosted the Asian Cup competitions for ten years, from 1984 to 1995.
  • The CBFS was founded by Rahman in 1981 and contributed to the record-breaking 206+ ODIs hosted here between 1984 and 2003. Allegations of corruption hit the stadium's reputation in 2001, which led to a decline in approval/ratings and, consequently, reduced competitive events.
  • The ICC Cup competition was held at the Sharjah Stadium in 2004, while some matches of the IPL took place here in 2014.
  • In 2002, four Test events involving Pakistan, West Indies, and Australia occurred here due to safety/security concerns at the feuded Pakistan home ground.
  • Between 2014 and 2020, the stadium regained its grounds after successfully accommodating various events, including IPL.

We expect to see more matches played at the Sharjah cricket stadium in the next few seasons.

 

General viewpoint – On the fate of Sharjah Cricket Stadium

We cannot despise nor approve all the possible issues raised against the transparency of Sharjah’s management or at least some of the top personnel. That’s because we can choose to believe the words of the tournament organizer, Asif Iqbal (accused of match-fixing), who claimed that all encounters were honest and fair. Therefore, we cannot take sides on the matter. It is way appropriate to appreciate the great sporting and social environment created by the Sharjah cricket stadium. 

Additionally, some people have raised concerns over its shorter distance as indicated by the Sharjah cricket stadium pitch report, making participants seem to trifle. It’s associated with having closer boundaries, which of course, can’t be the primary explanation. Therefore, Sharjah cricket gives the average punter a massive boost considering the more runners expected to be score each time there is a match.