Cricket’s footprint in the Middle East just got a little bigger. The Delhi Capitals academy network has officially opened its maiden centre in the Gulf region, setting up shop in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and turning the kingdom into the franchise’s fifth market after India, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.
On the ground, the new academy will operate in tandem with JSC Sports, which holds the distinction of being Jeddah’s first international cricket academy. More than 50 boys and girls aged five to 17 currently train at the Jeddah facility across four development tiers, and the partnership promises to plug them into a far wider ecosystem.
What does that mean in practice? Delhi Capitals will roll out its full coaching curriculum, technical frameworks and player development philosophy at the JSC Sports site. Young cricketers there will train under ICC-certified coaches, use high performance facilities and specialised coaching tools, and benefit from performance monitoring, exchange programmes and camps. The idea is straightforward: give kids in Jeddah the same development structure available to their peers in London or Toronto, and prepare them to compete at international standards.
“The launch of our first academy in the Middle East is another important step in the long term vision of the Delhi Capitals Academy. Our objective has always been to build a globally connected cricket development ecosystem where young players irrespective of geography have access to opportunities. Saudi Arabia is a growing sporting nation and we are delighted to partner with JSC Sports, who share our commitment in developing the game at the grassroots globally,” Sunil Gupta, CEO, Delhi Capitals said.
Timing matters here. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 programme has funnelled serious investment into sport over the past few years, and cricket is riding that wave alongside other emerging disciplines. Grassroots infrastructure remains thin on the ground, though, which is precisely the gap this partnership targets.
JSC Sports already has a track record worth noting. Around 10 of its trainees have gone on to wear Saudi Arabia colours across various national age-group squads. The academy’s girls’ team lifted the trophy at the Saudi National Games 2024, and its ties with the Saudi Cricket Federation run deep — the Jeddah facility recently hosted selection trials for the Saudi Men’s National Team.
“Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in sport under Vision 2030, and we’re seeing more young people take up cricket than ever before. We saw a real opportunity to give aspiring cricketers in Jeddah access to professional coaching and a clear development pathway. Partnering with Delhi Capitals helps us do exactly that. As the first international cricket academy in Jeddah, we’re excited to bring global coaching standards to young players here and create opportunities,” Jazim Haris, Head of Operations, JSC Sports, said.
The numbers tell the story of a franchise in expansion mode. With Jeddah now on the map, Delhi Capitals Cricket Academy operates 13 centres across five countries — seven on home soil in India and six scattered through the UK, Canada, the US and Saudi Arabia. Coaching expertise flows between these hubs, players move through exchange programmes, and the franchise’s brand keeps reaching into markets where cricket is still finding its feet.
For a sport steadily expanding beyond its traditional strongholds, every new academy in a non-traditional market chips away at the old geography of the game. Jeddah might seem like an unlikely cricketing hotspot today. Give it a decade, and the picture could look quite different.
Published by the Stumply team.
