Landmark decision for UAE cricket
In an attempt to promote the game to UAE nationals, the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) have ordered that at least four of the country’s 15-man squad who will travel to Pakistan next month to take on the Test playing nations Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the Asia Cup should be Emiratis.
Until the start of 2008, the UAE squad consisted almost exclusively of expatriate players from Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, who had qualified through the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) residency regulations.
However, the ECB have now introduced a quota system which states that at least four of the squad should be Emiratis, and that no fewer than two of them should be in the first XI.
Mohammed Tauqir, the veteran Emirati off-spinner, has been named as the understudy to the captain Saqib Ali, while Fahad al Hashmi, Alawi Shukri and Salman Farooq have also made the tour party.
The ECB’s bold step has not gone unnoticed by the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union. The Gulf’s rugby team consist entirely of Western expatriates, although there are signs that the game is finally starting to take hold among nationals at the grassroots level.
Indeed, some Emirati rugby players are believed to be attempting to form their own federation which would be independent to the Arabian Gulf.
The UAE football team have always selected a full team of Emiratis only, an indication of how popular the game is in the country with nationals compared with other sports.
The cricket board’s decision was a landmark not just for the game but for Shukri, who had campaigned for two years for greater assistance and recognition for Emirati cricketers. Shukri said: “This is a very good day. We have won one small battle.”
His team, the UAE Nationals Club, who are a side of UAE passport holders plus three overseas players, will celebrate their first anniversary in July.
The Asia Cup – a one-day tournament – is the highlight of the UAE’s cricket calendar. They will play Bangladesh on June 24 and Sri Lanka on June 26 in Lahore.
If they do pull off what would be a major shock and qualify from that pool, they will then move to Karachi for matches against the top two teams from a group made up of India, Pakistan and Hong Kong.
Vasbert Drakes, the former West Indies all-rounder, will take charge of the side for the first time since arriving in the UAE on May 10, and the matches will be shown live on ESPN.
However, despite his delight at making the squad, Shukri admitted the timing could not be much worse for him.
The cricket-obsessed 18-year-old has been studying for school examinations and has had little time to practise.
“I have barely picked up a bat in three weeks, which probably is not the best preparation for playing against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka,” he said.
“But hopefully I will be OK. I am looking forward to joining up with the squad on Monday, and we have a great new coach in Vasbert Drakes, which is very exciting for us all. This is a very big series for the country.”
