Delhi: These became cricket stadiums in Dubai and Abu Dhabi which have more discussion and glamor in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), otherwise it is not even possible to imagine what and how many records the Sharjah Cricket Stadium would have held in terms of organizing international matches. Can apply. Therefore, when the record of the first stadium to host 300 international matches came in the name of Sharjah Cricket Stadium, no one was surprised. It would be more correct to say that the credit for introducing cricket to the sandy lands of UAE goes to Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Thanks to this stadium, I first brought cricket there, watched other teams play and then thought of playing cricket myself in UAE.
When Afghanistan played the first ODI of its 3-match series against Bangladesh at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on 6 November, it was the 300th international match held in this stadium. It started with friendly matches and when international matches started playing here with the Asia Cup in 1984, the world was surprised to see the splendor of cricket in the cricket stadium built in the desert. Of these 300 international matches, there are 253 ODIs, 38 T20 Internationals and 9 Test matches.
Stadiums hosting most international matches (All records as of 6 November 2024)
Sharjah Cricket Stadium (UAE): 300 matches in 1984-2024
Sydney Cricket Ground (Australia): 291 matches in 1882-2024
Melbourne Cricket Ground (Australia): 287 matches from 1877-2024
Harare Sports Club (Zimbabwe): 267 matches 1992–2024
Lord’s (England): 227 matches in 1884-2024
Shere Bangla National Stadium (Bangladesh): 211 matches in 2006–2024
R.Premadasa Stadium (Sri Lanka): 207 matches in 1986-2024
Kennington Oval (England): 200 matches 1880-2024
Let us tell you that the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah, one of the 7 emirates of UAE, was built in the early 1980s and was thought of by Sheikh Bukhatir. He was fond of cricket and brought cricket here with the help of his petro dollars. Very soon international cricket started playing here and India-Pakistan matches in particular became very popular. At that time, cricket was played under the banner of The Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS) but very soon the UAE’s own cricket association took over the reins of cricket. It is also true that in the last years of the 1990s, it got infamous due to match fixing stories coming to light and it came to the point that India even stopped playing here.
When international cricket stopped playing in Pakistan due to safety issues, Sharjah was their first choice as a neutral ground. This trend continues till today and if there is any problem in playing any tournament in any country, due to any issue, the stadiums of UAE remain the first choice as neutral ground due to the facilities available.