Dubai: It will be test of mettle for the UAE team as they prepare to compete against the bigwigs of Asia cricketing nations at the Emerging Team Cup in Singapore from August 17 to 25.
To ensure the matches are fought on a fairer platform, the Test playing nations India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will field their under-23 teams while UAE, hosts Singapore, Afghanistan and Nepal will put their best teams.
“We are looking forward to this tournament ever since we qualified for it last October,” UAE skipper Ahmed Raza told XPRESS.
“This will be an important tournament for us and a great exposure since we have the big guns from Asia playing here.
“It’s an opportunity for us to prove that we are no less than these top teams and if we manage to put in a fine performance it should help our growth and catch the attention in the cricketing fraternity,” he added.
UAE are placed in Group B alongside Sri Lanka U-23, Bangladesh U-23, UAE and Singapore while Group A has India U-23, Pakistan U-23, Afghanistan and Nepal.
The teams are divided into two groups with four teams each at the Kallang and Singapore Cricket grounds. UAE open their campaign on August 19 against hosts Singapore at Kallang before they take on Sri Lanka Under-23 the following day. Their final group match will be played against Bangladesh under-23 team on August 22. The top two teams from each group will enter the semifinals while the final will be played on August 25.
“It’s a blessing in disguise,” Raza said about getting a relatively easier group. “If we can put up a good show we can beat Bangladesh and I’m sure our team has the capability of doing that and just one upset can set our chances of qualifying to the knockout,” he added.
The UAE team is currently in Canada playing the ICC Intercontinental Cup and the World Cricket League.
“We will be playing in Canada and that should keep us in good shape. We will be returning from Canada and immediately departing to Singapore so that should help,” he said.
Raza stressed on the need for more such tournaments that can help them gain international exposure. “We need such tournaments to be played regularly. For countries like Ireland and Scotland they get to play very often against Test playing nations like England. So for us countries like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka should help us by playing frequently which can help our team grow,” he said adding he is delighted to be the captain of this tour.
“This is my first 50-over format tournament as captain. It has been a good learning curve for me and we have a good team with the right combination of seniors and youngsters,” he said.
Dan D’Souza, who excelled in Malaysia at the ACC Under-19 Elite Cup tournament recently to earn the Player of the tournament award, has been given a nod with allrounder Raziq Khan.
“I’m really excited about this opportunity. I’m happy the hard work paid off. If I get a chance to play, I’m confident of doing well,” said D’Souza.
UAE will be hosting the Under-19 World Cup next year and D’Souza felt this tournament can further boost his confidence.
“We are playing against some of the best sides and most of them also will have a lot of under-19 players who will be part of the World Cup next year. So this is a great chance to watch them closely and to learn,” he added.
Raza said: “D’Souza is coming from a under-19 tournament as the player of the tournament which is good for his confidence. He is a very talented player and I’m confident he will do well.”
Teams:
Group A: India U-23, Pakistan U-23, Afghanistan and Nepal
Group B: Sri Lanka U-23, Bangladesh U-23, UAE and Singapore
Squad: Ahmed Raza (Captain), Naeemuddin Aslam, Vikrant Shetty, Shaiman Anwar, Nasir Aziz, Abdul Shakoor, Rohan Mustafa, Muhammad Naveed, Manjula Guruge, Shareef Asadullah, Fayyaz Ahmed, Shadeep Silva, Dan D’Souza, Swapnil Patil, Raziq Khan. Coach: Aaqib Javed; Physio: Chitrala Sudhaker; Manager: Mansoor Pasha; Video Analyst: Hussain Afridi.
