Abu Dhabi T10 kicked off its global television advertising campaign (TVC) to raise widespread interest and invite international visitors to the tournament being hosted in the emirate next month.

The global commercial features tournament stars and cricket ambassadors Eoin Morgan and Zaheer Khan involved in spirited cricket fun, alongside action footage from last year’s event and stunning picturesque scenes of Abu Dhabi.

The Sony-produced TVC promo takes place in an international airport set where an impromptu cricket match breaks out between a young fan and the two cricketing icons. Upbeat music paces the action as Khan and Morgan take turns bowling, batting, leaping and fielding all over the airport lounge, much to the amusement of the airport guests. Only after hearing their departure notice do the two competitors interrupt their play to remember, “We’re headed to Abu Dhabi!”

The experience of filming a major campaign promo in a makeshift airport location over a single day was surprisingly “fun” and “enjoyable”, according to Khan. “The script was a good one and the crew was very efficient and professional. I felt the message was to express the joy of cricket from the eyes of a fan. And I think that Abu Dhabi T10 was created with fans in mind, to give them action-packed cricket with top players in a top destination.”

Sony Pictures Sports Network Creative Head Naina Toor marvelled at the ease of both sporting superstars in front of the camera outside the confines of the cricket stadium. She said, “Both Zaheer and Eoin were a pleasure to work with. It’s important for talent to be relaxed and natural so at least by putting them in a familiar position, having fun, playing cricket and interacting with the public, we tried to put them in the best possible light and I think we hit the right notes. Eoin in particular might want to explore a career on camera after cricket if he decides; he was so natural.”

The 60-second commercial was created in partnership with Sony Pictures Network – the official broadcast partner for the event, and is expected to deliver the tournament to its largest audience to date. Last year’s T10 tournament was seen by over 100 million over television broadcast and online. This year, Sony will carry each Abu Dhabi T10 match, including the Opening Ceremony Concert with top-tier Bollywood entertainment, in English on SONY SIX and in Hindi and regional languages on SONY TEN 3, opening up their subscriber base of around 700 million. In addition, cricket fans will be able to stream the tournament live over their mobile phones through either the SONY LIV or JioTV platforms. These online channels add an additional 300 million potential viewers, making 250 million viewers for the Abu Dhabi T10 a distinct possibility.

The full-length TVC will run in rotation from today, while a 35 second promo can be seen regularly on the aforementioned Sony channels.

For further information regarding tickets and hospitality, please visit: https://ttensports.com/

About Abu Dhabi T10

Abu Dhabi T10 is a professional ten-over format cricket league launched by T10 Sports Management and licensed by the Emirates Cricket Board and approved by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the governing body of international cricket. It is the first ever internationally approved 10-over format league.

Matches have 10-over-a-side format and duration of 45 minutes a side, totalling 90 minutes of play. The tournament is played over 10 days, with a round robin followed by semi-finals and the final. In August 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC) officially sanctioned the league.

About Abu Dhabi Cricket

Abu Dhabi Cricket (ADC) is supported by Abu Dhabi Sports Council and operates under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Bin Mubarak Al Nahayan.

ADC is ushering in an exciting new era of cricket in Abu Dhabi with significant investment in facilities and operational upgrades. In addition to the iconic Zayed Cricket Stadium the venue now boasts the following impressive facilities: 2 x floodlit nursery cricket ovals, international standard cricket nets facility, 4 x floodlit netball courts, 5-a-side “Soccer City”, 4 x multi-purpose floodlit astro-turf pitches and 5 x FIFA approved grass, floodlit football pitches.

ADC was founded on 20th November 1996, with the impressive Zayed Cricket Stadium, considered among the world’s best, being completed in 2005. The Stadium’s inaugural international match was staged between India and Pakistan in April 2006 and was attended by 20,000 enthusiastic fans.

Zayed Cricket Stadium has hosted numerous domestic and international matches since that day. The electric atmosphere of the Pakistan vs. India match was rivalled when the Indian Premier League arrived in 2014.

2018 saw the stadium’s biggest season to date with over 75,000 fans flooding the stands throughout the 2018 ACC Asia Cup, Pakistan vs. Australia series, Pakistan vs. New Zealand series and of course the inaugural Abu Dhabi T20 – during which six of the world’s biggest T20 franchises descended upon the UAE capital to vie for championship honours.

Though cricket is at the core of operations, ADC also prides itself on the world-class facilities available, catering to sportsmen and women of all ages and abilities from elite international players to community sports enthusiasts.

In addition to the international cricket season that was, ADC has also welcomed and hosted the likes of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) England Lions for their 2018 tour of the UAE, New Zealand’s All Black 7s and Black Fern 7s rugby teams ahead of the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby 7s (of which both teams emerged champions) and Japan, Oman, Syria, China, Yemen, Iran, Thailand, India and South Korea’s football training camps ahead of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

The facility has also been used by several other international associations as a winter training destination, most notably many professional English County teams who return year after year for their pre-season camps.

The recent investments to develop the facility have truly ensured that ADC is known for more than cricket. Indeed, Abu Dhabi Cricket has become the home for a range of coaching academies, clubs, groups and schools for football, touch rugby, netball, basketball, squash and much more.

For press enquiries please contact:

Matt Wickens, Four Communications

adcc@fourcommunications.com

+971 52 893 2016