DUBAI A few years ago Mohammad Naveed Saleem travelled daily for nearly six hours with a dream of playing cricket. Despite facing hurdles the determined 27-year-old from Pakistan never lost his confidence.
His hard work paid off and Naveed set himself up as one of the prominent players in the UAE team and now he is living a dream as he is all set to travel Down Under to participate in his first World Cup. “It’s a dream come true,” said Naveed. “To be playing for the UAE and now the World Cup is magic. There has been a lot of hard work but I’m happy its all paid off.”
Tough journey
During the initial days, Naveed travelled from Ras Al Khaimah to Dubai to try his luck in cricket. Having no clue about fast bowling, he did manage to raise some eyebrows at the training session for his raw pace.
Impressing officials with his talent, he was asked to attend the nets on a regular basis. Taking his first step towards playing competitive cricket, it wasn’t an easy journey for Naveed.
Surviving on a small job on hand in RAK, attending training sessions on a daily basis proved to be difficult task for Naveed. But the will to succeed kept the pacer going. “It was a difficult phase. But I was determined to prove my worth. I was told I had the talent but I need to be regular to hone my skills. So I did not mind the long travelling hours in public transport. But as I grew in cricket, things started getting better before I represented UAE for the first time in 2013.”
Naveed has been a consistent performer in the team and has played six ODI matches for the UAE since his debut in May last year. “I have to thank Aaqib Javed (UAE coach) for transforming me. He kept my confidence going and supported me at every point. There were also many people who helped me reach where I’m today,” he said.
Upbeat about playing in the World Cup he said: “I’m really looking forward to the World Cup. We have a realistic target and would want to take one match at a time. It will be great to bowl there since the wickets help fast bowlers and I hope my performance can help UAE win.”
Aaqib Javed said: “He is a very exciting fast bowler. When I first saw him he had the pace but lacked execution. He has picked up well and he will be useful and he will be the one to watch.
“He has done well in Australia during our recent tour and also against Pakistan here and that should give him confidence to perform well,” Javed said.
Largest cricket bat
OSN is celebrating the start of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 by unveiling a giant cricket bat, 32 metres long and 4 metres wide, in a bid to clinch the Guinness World Record for the ‘Largest Cricket Bat.’ As tall as an 8 to 10-storey building, the bat weighs a mammoth 950kg and is nearly 32 times longer than a standard cricket bat.
