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The UAE's cricket community is in shock as they mourn the sudden death of Indian expatriate Mandeep Singh, who was hailed as a "fantastic all-rounder" and the "best teammate ever." His team members find it hard to accept that he is no longer with them and are reeling from what happened on Thursday (June 20) night.

Vision Cricket Ground management said that the Sharjah ground was rented for an ongoing tournament and hosted three matches on Thursday. The Dubai Super Kings (DSK) played a three-hour T22 match against the Titans from 8.30pm until 11.50pm.

According to the DSK team, during the second innings of the match, the captain approached Mandeep to bowl the 17th over, but he declined, complaining of discomfort. He requested to retire from the game and proceeded to lie down on the other side of the ropes. Suspecting exhaustion, his teammates fanned him so he could cool down. They also served him energy drinks, juices, and candies. After 10-15 minutes, the expat in his 40s said he felt better but decided not to return to the field.

When the match was over, Mandeep hitched a ride with his teammates and headed home to Al Nahda 2, Dubai. Barely 10km from the stadium, as they reached the Sharjah-Nazwa Road, the Indian expat again complained of uneasiness and shortness of breath. He then started gasping for breath and collapsed inside the car.

His DSK teammates safely parked the car and laid him on the ground to perform CPR on him while another called for an ambulance at around 12.13am. They were instructed to remain where they had parked.

Once the emergency team arrived, they tried to revive Mandeep with CPR and defibrillation, according to his teammates. They then rushed him to Al Daid Hospital, where the doctors had declared him dead.

Although it is suspected that he suffered from heat exhaustion, the exact cause of Mandeep's death remains unknown, pending details from the forensic department. His body will be handed over to his family after the report and police clearance.

Originally from Mumbai, Mandeep lived in the UAE for the past 15 years, and is survived by his wife and two sons. His colleagues from Flydubai, neighbours and cricket mates have come forward to support the grieving family and finalise all the formalities.

A spokesperson from the airline said, "We are saddened by the passing of our colleague Mandeep Dhaliwal, who has been part of the Flydubai family."

The company where Mandeep worked for more than 10 years expressed their "deepest condolences to his family". The airline said they were in contact with the family and added, "our thoughts remain with his family and his loved ones and we ask that they are given privacy during this difficult time."

Tributes pour in

As news of Mandeep's death spread among cricketing enthusiasts in the UAE, players who shared the field with him paid heartfelt tribute to their beloved teammate and friend.

One team member, who requested anonymity, said, "He was a fantastic, humble, and energetic guy. He often played two to three times a week and was enthusiastic about sports, especially cricket. He was our go-man with the ball and the bat. He was also quite fit, and I have never heard him complain about any issues. What happened on Thursday night was a shocker, and we cannot accept that Mandeep is no more."

Another DSK cricketer said, "He was a gem of a person, and we are all devastated to lose such a mate and a senior team member. He played for several teams and was a complete all-around team player who never had any disputes with anyone. He was a true sportsman and a complete player. May he rest in peace, and may his family find strength in this difficult time."

A player, who was in the vehicle when Mandeep collapsed, was shaken from the incident and was at a loss. "We are devastated and heartbroken. I cannot express my feelings right now," he said.

Naveed Ahmed, Chairman of Superfix Sports, which organises cricket tournaments across the UAE, offered his condolences and said, "It is with deep sorrow that we mourn the untimely passing of Mandeep Singh, a dedicated player in various cricket leagues across the UAE.

"Our heartfelt condolences go out to Mandeep's family, friends, and the entire cricket community affected by this loss. May Mandeep Singh rest in peace.

"This incident is a stark reminder of the importance of prioritising health and well-being in sports. I urge all players to stay hydrated, take necessary breaks, and listen to their bodies."

Saudi Arabia said Sunday that more than 1,300 faithful died during the hajj pilgrimage which took place during intense heat and that most of them who died did not have official permits.

"Regrettably, the number of mortalities reached 1,301, with 83 percent being unauthorised to perform hajj and having walked long distances under direct sunlight, without adequate shelter or comfort," the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

An AFP tally last week, based on official statements and reports from diplomats involved in their countries' responses, put the count at more than 1,100.

The dead came from more than 10 countries stretching from the United States to Indonesia, and some governments are continuing to update their totals.

Arab diplomats told AFP last week that Egyptians accounted for 658 deaths -- 630 of them unregistered pilgrims. 

The diplomats said the cause of death in most cases was heat-related. 

Temperatures in Mecca this year climbed as high as 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Saudi Arabia's national meteorological centre. 

Riyadh had not publicly commented on the deaths or provided its own count until Sunday. 

On Friday, however, a senior Saudi official gave AFP a partial count of 577 deaths for the two busiest days of hajj: June 15, when pilgrims gathered for hours of prayers in the blazing sun on Mount Arafat, and June 16, when they participated in the "stoning of the devil" ritual in Mina.

The official also defended Riyadh's response, saying: "The state did not fail, but there was a misjudgement on the part of people who did not appreciate the risks."

'Heat stress'

The Saudi health minister, Fahd Al-Jalajel, on Sunday described management of the hajj this year as "successful", SPA reported. 

He said the health system "provided more than 465,000 specialised treatment services, including 141,000 services to those who didn't obtain official authorisation to perform hajj," according to SPA, which summarised an interview he gave to the state-affiliated Al-Ekhbariya channel.

Jalajel did not specify how many deaths Saudi officials attributed to heat.

"The health system addressed numerous cases of heat stress this year, with some individuals still under care," SPA reported. 

"Among the deceased were several elderly and chronically ill individuals."

The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam that all Muslims with the means must complete at least once in their lives.

Saudi officials have said 1.8 million pilgrims took part this year, a similar number to last year, and that 1.6 million came from abroad.

For the past several years the mainly outdoor rituals have fallen during the sweltering Saudi summer.

The timing of the hajj moves forward about 11 days each year in the Gregorian calendar, meaning that next year it will take place earlier in June, potentially in cooler conditions.

A 2019 study by the journal Geophysical Research Letters said because of climate change, heat stress for hajj pilgrims will exceed the "extreme danger threshold" from 2047 to 2052 and 2079 to 2086, "with increasing frequency and intensity as the century progresses".

Off-the-books hajj

Hajj permits are allocated to countries on a quota system and distributed to individuals by lottery.

Even for those who can obtain them, the steep costs spur many to attempt the hajj without a permit, though they risk arrest and deportation if caught.

Saudi authorities said before the hajj that they had cleared hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims from Mecca.

But the Saudi official who spoke to AFP on Friday said around 400,000 unregistered pilgrims took part, and that "almost all of them (were) from one nationality", an apparent reference to Egypt. 

On Saturday, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly ordered 16 tourism companies stripped of their licences and referred their managers to the public prosecutor over illegal pilgrimages to Mecca, Egypt's cabinet said.

It said the rise in the number of deaths of unregistered Egyptian pilgrims stemmed from some companies which "organised the hajj programmes using a personal visit visa, which prevents its holders from entering Mecca" via official channels.

Unregistered pilgrims in many cases did not have access to amenities meant to make the pilgrimage more bearable, including air-conditioned tents.

Unregistered Egyptian pilgrims told AFP last week that in some cases they struggled to access hospitals or hail ambulances for loved ones, some of whom ended up dying.

The Abu Dhabi branch of the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi is set to start its first undergraduate courses in September — a milestone expected to kickstart the school’s further expansion in Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

The Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi is a public engineering institute in the Indian capital, one of 23 IITs operating across the country and offering undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate-level programs.

Run by the Indian Ministry of Education, it is considered one of the best centers of excellence for training, research and science in India, and is globally ranked 45th in engineering and technology in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024.

The institute’s UAE branch is funded by the Abu Dhabi Department of Education based on an agreement with the Indian government signed in July 2023.

Currently hosted by Zayed University, the IIT-Delhi Abu Dhabi started its teaching program in January with a master’s course in energy transition and sustainability, which paved the way for full-fledged operations to be launched in the academic year 2024-25.

“The undergraduate program is a flagship program of the IITs and hence its launch is significant,” Prof. Shantanu Roy, director of the IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi, told Arab News this week.

“We would like to reach out to international students in the GCC countries. We will also be rolling out our research programs shortly and would like to engage with partners in Abu Dhabi, UAE and the region. IIT-Delhi Abu Dhabi will serve as a meeting point between IIT Delhi and its long 60-plus years legacy in teaching and research, and partners and collaborators in the UAE and neighboring countries.”

The two upcoming undergraduate programs will have a batch of 30 students each. Most of the students will enter based on the institute’s new examination, which the director said was customized for the UAE.

“A significant number of Emirati students have registered ... We see many students in our outreach programs,” Roy said.

“Eleven out of 18 students in our inaugural master’s program in energy transition and sustainability are UAE nationals. They are doing very well, and we are proud of them.”

The offshore campus is a part of the UAE-India comprehensive economic partnership agreement that came into force in May 2022.

The UAE branch is the IIT’s first campus set up abroad.

“The opening of the IIT campus in Abu Dhabi is indeed a significant milestone,” Sunjay Sudhir, Indian ambassador to the UAE told Arab News. “Now, in September, the first bachelor of technology courses in computer science and energy will commence.”

He said that IIT operations would not only strengthen the institute’s global brand, but also Abu Dhabi’s position as a hub for high-tech and innovation.

“The IIT-Delhi campus will be an important part of the innovation ecosystem of this country,” Sudhir said. “We expect a strong linkage between the IIT-Delhi campus and other research teaching establishments and also industries.”