Dr Rashid Alleem and other dignitaries during the unveiling of the trophy for the RPL’s fifth edition. Kamal Kassim / Gulf Today

With 72 teams, 143 matches and four iconic venues, the biggest corporate cricket tournament of the GCC — Rashid Alleem Premier League (RPL) returns next month for its fifth edition.

The matches will be held at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Al Dhaid Cricket Ground, Ajman Oval and Skyline University when RPL will gets underway on Jan.1, 2020. Final will be held on Feb.7

The new season of the RPL has got thumbs up from lot of international stars including Afghanistan wicket-keeper Mohammad Shahzad, England all-rounder Moeen Ali, Pakistan’s former Test leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed, former UAE coach Aqib Javed, South African legend Jonty Rhodes, top UAE star Chirag Suri and others.

In a message relayed during the unveiling of trophy, the international crickets backed the RPL’s season five and hailed the success of the previous editions.  

RPL is a brainchild of Dr Rashid Alleem, Founder and Executive Chairman of Alleem Research and Development Centre, who is well-known personality working in the field of sustainability.

The event falls in line with the Alleem Research and Development Centre’s vision of spreading positive energy and healthy environment in the society. Dr Alleem launched the Alleem Research and Development Centre in 2015.

“Sports are the best way to promote a healthy lifestyle. Besides keeping fit, it also instills a spirit of competitiveness in us that is very important for the positive growth of a community and country,” said Dr Alleem on the sidelines of the launch of season five.

“If we want to build a better tomorrow, a stable economy, we need to merge businesses with society. We have seen how important businesses are and true sustainable businesses should be both mentally and physically fit.

“That is how we came up with the idea of Rashid Alleem Premier League. It was a dream for most of the players to be at the Sharjah International Cricket stadium, which is famous worldwide, and it is one of the most loved games by the Asians,” he added.

Tournament has seen rapid rise in the terms of participation as with a humble beginning with just 9 teams in 2016 the event has been trimming the list of teams to organise it smoothly.