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With the borders between India and Pakistan shut and diplomatic ties frozen, the UAE has once again stepped up as cricket’s trusted neutral venue, aiming to stage the Asia Cup in September. Beyond the high-voltage contests between the two fierce rivals, stadiums, malls, restaurants and tourist attractions are set to buzz with South Asian fans, reinforcing why the Emirates continues to reign as the region’s cultural and tourism bridge.

Following an intense four-day armed conflict between the nuclear neighbors in May, relations hit a new low: political dialogue stalled, cultural exchanges vanished, and travel ties were severed. There were initial fears that the teams of both countries wouldn’t get the nod to play each other in the Twenty20 spectacle, but those concerns have since been laid to rest by their cricket boards. The next hurdle was whether Pakistan would allow its team to travel to India, the tournament’s official host. After much deliberation, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) agreed that the event simply cannot be staged without both heavyweights. That’s when the proposal for a neutral venue was floated, with the UAE emerging as the frontrunner to host it once........

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