Listen to this Article (Audio)

Baseball United, the first professional baseball league dedicated to the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent, has officially unveiled the schedule for its highly anticipated inaugural season. Set to run from November 14 to December 14, all games will take place at the newly built Baseball United Ballpark in Dubai, marking a monumental moment in the region’s sports history.

This announcement follows three years of landmark baseball events in the region, setting the stage for the league’s first full season. With a strong lineup of four founding teams, an exciting match schedule, and some of the sport’s most accomplished international players, Baseball United is ready to take the global baseball community by storm.

The inaugural season will feature four pioneering franchises: Mumbai Cobras, Karachi Monarchs, Arabia Wolves, and Mid East Falcons. Each team will compete in nine regular season games, facing each other three times before the league’s United Series Championship, a best-of-three showdown scheduled for December 12-14 to crown the first-ever Baseball United Champion. In total, 21 games will be played over 30 days, all taking place in Dubai, which has rapidly positioned itself as a premier sporting destination.

“Our team has worked tirelessly to make this vision a reality,” said Kash Shaikh, Baseball United’s Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder. “We are incredibly grateful for the support of our partners in Dubai and the UAE, as well as our investors and global fans. This is just the beginning of what we believe will be a historic movement in the world of baseball.”

The season will kick off with a groundbreaking Subcontinent Series from November 14-16, featuring a historic matchup between the Mumbai Cobras and Karachi Monarchs. This event marks the first time that baseball teams from India and Pakistan will go head-to-head in a professional league. India and Pakistan share one of the world’s most intense sporting rivalries, particularly in cricket, where their matches draw record-breaking global audiences. Just last month, their face-off in the ICC Champions Trophy attracted a staggering 600 million viewers—five times the viewership of the Super Bowl. Baseball United aims to capture some of that passion and enthusiasm, introducing America’s pastime to a vast, sports-hungry audience.

Baseball United is set to announce its official broadcast partners this summer, ensuring television and digital streaming access across 193 countries. This move follows the success of its recent UAE Series, which saw 12 million unique viewers tune in, including 3.3 million per game in Pakistan alone—higher than any regular-season MLB game in the U.S. last year. With a combined population of over two billion people in the Middle East and South Asia—one billion of whom are already devoted cricket fans—Baseball United sees enormous potential in fostering a new baseball-loving audience.

The complete team rosters will be announced later this spring. However, Baseball United has already confirmed that 65% of its players have experience in Major League Baseball (MLB), bringing high-caliber talent to the league. Among the big names set to play are Robinson Cano, an eight-time MLB All-Star, Andrelton Simmons, a four-time MLB Gold Glove Winner, and Pablo Sandoval, a three-time MLB World Series Champion. Karan Patel, the first player of Indian descent drafted by an MLB team and the number one overall pick for the Mumbai Cobras in the 2023 Baseball United Draft, will also be participating. Former Atlanta Braves All-Star Jair Jurrjens will pitch for the Arabia Wolves. Each team will field a 26-player roster, blending experienced MLB veterans with emerging regional talent.

In just 38 days, Baseball United constructed its new ballpark at The Sevens sports and entertainment complex in Dubai. Since opening last fall, the stadium has already hosted major events, including the Arab Classic, the largest international amateur baseball tournament in the region, and the highly successful UAE Series. This ballpark is now the first professional baseball field in the history of both the Middle East and South Asia, marking a significant step forward in the sport’s development in these regions.

Beyond professional games, Baseball United is committed to growing the sport at all levels. The organization has built a diverse ecosystem that includes youth development programs, partnerships with local baseball federations, global media and content production, merchandise and fan engagement initiatives, and non-profit outreach to promote sports access. Led by Kash Shaikh and 20 baseball legends, including Hall of Famers Barry Larkin and Mariano Rivera, along with icons like Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, and Ronald Acuña Jr., Baseball United is set to become a transformational force in international baseball.

With its first season just months away, Baseball United is on the verge of making history. A full season, four teams, international MLB talent, and a passionate audience spanning multiple continents—this is just the beginning. As the league expands and gains momentum, Baseball United is set to redefine the future of professional baseball, bringing the excitement of America’s pastime to a whole new generation of fans in the Middle East and South Asia.