Proposing marriage at Dubai Stadium is as much to Mumbai as it is to Hong Kong

As soon as you enter the Dubai International Stadium, you will see pictures of Rohit Sharma, Babar Azam, Shakib Al Hasan, Dasun Shanaka and Mohammad Nabi on a huge banner. But you won’t find a picture of any Hong Kong cricketer making it past the Asia Cup qualifiers to the main stage. As if the team did not participate in this tournament! However, this Hong Kong team suddenly came into the discussion before being knocked out of the Asia Cup after losing against India and Pakistan in the group stage.

And vice-captain Kinchit Shah brought the team to the discussion. After the first match against India, Kinchit proposed to his girlfriend in the gallery of the Dubai International Stadium. His long-time girlfriend also said ‘yes’ to the kneeling marriage proposal. The video of Kinchit went viral instantly after it was published on Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Twitter-Facebook.

Kinchit, however, had no special plans to propose in such a crowded field. In the first light, he was saying the same thing, ‘I actually did not think so much. The plan was to go to Mumbai and propose. But suddenly everything happened. When I was playing the match, I didn’t think about these things. The idea suddenly came to mind after the match. You have seen what happened next.

Another reason to talk about Kinchit is his family. Born in India, the all-rounder’s father is diamond merchant Devang Shah. As the son of a wealthy family, he is always in the limelight in Hong Kong cricket. Kinchit’s father also owns a team in the Hong Kong Twenty20 Cricket League. At the dinner table, there is no discussion other than cricket. My mother is very upset. Me, my brother, father – all of us used to chat about cricket, and mother used to get angry. We always watch IPL, we watch Test matches. The whole family is used to cricket chat. Everyone in the family is used to playing tennis. But the discussion at the dinner table is only cricket.