Shyam Alamchand Bhatia

Shyam Alamchand Bhatia is an entrepreneur and a philanthropist. Born in 1942 in Mirpurkhas, Sindh, he moved to Ajmer, Rajasthan, during Partition and later played first-class cricket for Rajasthan and Saurashtra. In 1979, he founded Alam Steel Group in Dubai, and in 2004, established the Cricket for Care Foundation to provide cricket equipment, coaching and facilities to underprivileged children across the world. A lifelong cricket enthusiast, he has published Sunny G, Portraits of the Game: Cricketing Greats Recall Their Magic Moments, and its sequel, Portraits, with proceeds from the books supporting his foundation. He has also supported cricket in the UAE through local tournaments and an annual awards event featuring several cricketing legends, and has curated a private cricket museum with rare memorabilia, autographed equipment, books, photographs and art. In 2011, he was named one of the UAE’s 40 most influential Asians. He is also the recipient of the Mother Teresa International Award. He is married to Vimla, and they have two grown-up children.