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Having trained aspiring cricketers for more than two decades in the UAE, veteran coaches Presley Polonnowita, Sudhakar Shetty and Gopal Jasapara sympathised with parents who saw their children’s dreams of learning the art of cricket go up in smoke.

Around 35 families are now counting the cost after the closure of a cricket academy which was launched in the UAE under the name of Indian superstar Rohit Sharma.

Launched in 2024 by Grasport Sports Academy (GSA) in association with CricKingdom by Rohit Sharma brand, the new cricket academy promised world-class coaching in the UAE.

However, due to mismanagement, the academy never managed to hold regular training sessions, forcing the organisers to end operations in May. Now, parents are demanding refunds as coaches and staff are complaining of unpaid wages.

But Shetty, head coach of Dubai-based Max Talent Academy, was not surprised by how things have unfolded.

“We have seen this in the past — people selling dreams to parents by adding big names to the new academies, and how they have all failed. What pains me the most here is the heartbreak suffered by young kids who probably dreamt of training under Rohit,” Shetty said.

Sudhakar Shetty

“Parents fall for these schemes, thinking big stars like Rohit will attend training sessions. It doesn’t work that way, and unfortunately, people don’t realise that. What is even more unfortunate is that the kids, most of who are probably around six to seven years old, must have gone to the nets hoping to have a hit with Rohit. It’s really heartbreaking when you think of them.”

Polonnowita, the head coach and founder of Desert Cubs Cricket Academy, warned parents in the UAE about the perils of sending their kids to new academies launched by inexperienced people.

“This is nothing new, we have seen in the Covid times as well how some people started academies with big names under their banner, only to mess up everything. So parents should do proper research before sending their kids to a sports academy,” said Polonnowita, who had played for the Sri Lankan Under 19 team alongside Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu.

“I am not saying this because I have a cricket academy. But parents must check the background, and what an academy has done for the development of the game before taking a decision.

“It’s important because we have so many examples of people using big names like MS Dhoni, Ravichandran Ashwin, Chaminda Vaas, and Michael Vaughan for their academies in the past, and none of them succeeded.”

Meanwhile, Jasapara, head coach of the Dubai-based G Force Cricket Academy, is appalled by the conduct of people running Grasport Sports Academy.

“These people used the name of Rohit Sharma, who is an icon of Indian cricket. But unfortunately, now, his name has been dragged into this controversy. So I hope Rohit’s team will be much more careful in the future when people approach them for such ventures,” said Jasapara.

Gopal Jasapara (left)

“Rohit is too big a name to be dragged into something like this. Also, at the same time, I urge all parents to be careful and not fall for people who use big names for their business ambitions.

“Look, what has happened is very unfortunate, and we are ready to help anyone who has suffered. We will always be there for the development of the game of cricket.”

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