A 38-year-old Indian expat, who had been living in Dubai for nearly 15 years, died after he collapsed during a routine cricket match.Muhammad Safwan Shanu hails from Bhatkal in Karnataka. Safwan was batting during a weekly cricket match on Sunday morning when he suddenly collapsed on the field at around 7.10am.
Team members rushed to help and called an ambulance.
He was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation before he was taken to hospital, where doctors later declared him dead on arrival.Friends said there was no indication anything was wrong. The night before the match, Safwan visited Dubai’s waterfront market with his friends to buy fish and groceries before preparing for the match, a long-standing weekend routine.A close friend of Safwan, Nabil Karaikal, who was with him on the field, told Khaleej Times that everything seemed normal before the accident.“We play cricket every Sunday morning and this has become our routine for years. On Saturday evening, we went to the waterfront market to buy fish and groceries. He was completely fine. “The next morning, we traveled together in the same car to Earth, and everything was normal,” Nabil said.He added: “Safwan suddenly collapsed and lost consciousness during the beating. We immediately called an ambulance, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him, and took him to the hospital. We later learned that the doctors declared his death upon his arrival.”“.
Safwan moved to the UAE about 15 years ago and built his life in Dubai, where he lived with his wife and their four children, three sons and a daughter who was born just four months ago.After working in a private company for about eight years, he later started his own business. Outside of work, he was widely known for his involvement in community cricket, captaining teams and winning numerous Player of the Match and tournament awards over the years.Community leader Muniri Atiqur Rahman, who had known Safwan since childhood, said he would be remembered not only for his achievements on the cricket field but also for his character and relationships with others.Safwan’s parents wanted to travel from India to Dubai to attend the funeral, but they did not have entry visas to the UAE. Relatives stepped in to coordinate the visa process, complete the necessary documents and arrange travel so that they could reach Dubai in time to perform their son’s final rites. Friends said cricket remained a constant throughout Safwan’s life, from his childhood in Bhatkal to his years in Dubai, where he became a familiar figure in local cricket circles.