Sunil Kumar Sadasivan Wins UAE's Dh30 Million Jackpot and Plans Return to Kerala as BAPS Mandir Takes Tolerance Award
Abu Dhabi's Indian expat community celebrated a landmark lottery win this week as Sunil Kumar Sadasivan, a 52-year-old maintenance worker, claimed the UAE Lottery's Dh30 million Grand Prize in the Lucky Day Draw held on July 1, 2026, and immediately announced plans to return to Kerala. The BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi also earned international recognition, winning a prestigious Tolerance Award 2026, while the Abu Dhabi T10 cricket franchise moved into a new phase of expansion with a global invitation to bid for team ownership. The week underscored the vitality and visibility of South Asian communities across the emirate.
🤝 Indian expat Sunil Kumar Sadasivan wins Dh30 million UAE jackpot, plans return to Kerala
Sunil Kumar Sadasivan became the second Dh30 million Grand Prize winner of the UAE Lottery's Lucky Day Draw when he matched all seven winning numbers on July 1, 2026, securing a life-changing windfall. The 52-year-old, who works as a maintenance employee in Abu Dhabi, told Gulf News reporters Sajila Saseendran and Tricia Gajitos that he will be quitting his job and leaving for Kerala for good. Sadasivan shared that he and an anonymous friend played the Wednesday draw together, with the win transforming his plans entirely. The Lucky Day Draw is part of the UAE's licensed national lottery, and Sadasivan's win was the second jackpot of its kind to be claimed. His decision to return to India reflects a pattern common among Gulf expatriates who use windfalls or retirement savings to return home. The Gulf News feature offered a warm, humanizing portrait of the winner as he processed the realization that his long working years in the UAE were drawing to a close. [1]
🪔 BAPS Hindu Mandir Abu Dhabi wins prestigious Tolerance Award 2026
The BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi was awarded a prestigious Tolerance Award for 2026, recognizing the mandir's contributions to inter-faith harmony and its role as a symbol of cultural openness in the UAE. The award reflects the broader significance of the BAPS Hindu Mandir, which opened to international acclaim in Abu Dhabi and became a landmark of the UAE's Tolerance framework. The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, which operates the mandir, noted the honor as recognition of its humanitarian and spiritual mission in the Middle East. The award positions the Abu Dhabi mandir as a recognized actor in the UAE's official inter-faith and tolerance ecosystem, alongside mosques, churches, and other houses of worship. The recognition came through BAPS's official news channel, celebrating the mandir's continued integration into Emirati civic life. The award adds to the mandir's standing as one of the most celebrated South Asian cultural landmarks in the Gulf region. [2]
🤝 Bangladeshi expat wins over Tk3 crore in Abu Dhabi Big Ticket draw
A Bangladeshi expatriate working in Abu Dhabi won over Tk3 crore in the Abu Dhabi Big Ticket lottery draw, according to The Business Standard of Bangladesh. The win highlights the participation of South Asian workers from multiple nations in the UAE's popular lottery culture, with Bangladeshis forming one of the largest expatriate communities in the Gulf. The Big Ticket draw, held in Abu Dhabi, is one of the region's most well-known charity-linked lottery events and regularly produces winners from among the South Asian migrant workforce. The Bangladeshi winner's prize, converted to taka, represents a substantial sum that would be transformative for a typical expat worker's family back home. The Business Standard's coverage of the win reflects the strong interest Bangladeshi readers have in their community members' fortunes in the Gulf. The result underscores Abu Dhabi's continued role as a city where South Asian communities from across the subcontinent participate in shared civic and economic life. [3]
🤝 Abu Dhabi T10 franchise opens global team invitation to bid as tournament expansion continues
The Abu Dhabi T10 cricket league opened a global invitation to bid for franchise ownership as part of its ongoing expansion, with the Hindustan Times reporting the bid window opened on July 3. The move signals the continued commercial ambitions of the T10 format, which has found a natural home in Abu Dhabi's South Asian-heavy expat market. Franchise procurement at the global level reflects the league's intent to attract investment from cricket-loving markets worldwide. The Abu Dhabi T10 has become a flagship sporting event for the emirate's Indian and Pakistani communities, who constitute a major share of its fanbase. The league's growth is closely tied to the UAE's broader push to establish itself as a global cricket destination outside the traditional Test-playing nations. The bidding process represents a business milestone for a league that blends South Asian cricket culture with Gulf commercial infrastructure. [5]
Sources: [1] Gulf News · [2] BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha · [3] The Business Standard · [5] Hindustan Times