Organisers expect ‘pretty special’ crowd for Baseball United's opening night

When Kash Shaikh first had the idea of bringing professional baseball to the Middle East, he might have been inspired by a line from Field of Dreams.

“If you build it, he will come,” Kevin Costner’s character is told in the movie, when he visualises building a baseball diamond on his farm at which his heroes could play. The line has become more popularly misquoted as “they will come.”

Fortunately for Shaikh, the stadium was already built when he first floated the idea of Baseball United two years ago.

Now, two years later, the cricket field at Dubai International Stadium has been transformed into a baseball diamond, and the gates will be opened to paying spectators for the first time.

Two sides will play in the first Baseball United All-Star Showcase series on Friday and Saturday nights.

A sizeable part of the ambition of Shaik, who is the chairman, chief executive and majority owner of Baseball United, has already been realised.

An impressive assembly of Major League Baseball personnel have travelled from the United States with him to be involved, including players, coaches, commentators and back-room staff.

The exhibition matches will also involve three players from India, two from Pakistan, and one each from Palestine, Sri Lanka and Uganda.

Now all the project needs are eyeballs for its matches, and the organisers are confident on that count, too. The matches are set to be broadcast in 127 countries, while they are anticipating around 5,000 spectators in the stands.

“For India versus Pakistan it is full; for local leagues, it is not,” Shaikh said about the turnout for cricket at the stadium in the past.

“People told us if you can get a couple of thousand people in there, we will be surprised. We believe we are going