Dubai: Three months ago the UAE’s key allrounder Rohan Mustafa probably feared for his chances of playing in the World Cup. After having received a ban for absconding from duty he had to rush back to his native Pakistan with little hope of returning to the UAE.
But a month later the 26-year-old was back in the UAE to join the team after his ban was lifted, thanks to the efforts of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB). He is now all set to realise his dream when he prepares to play in his first World Cup match against Zimbabwe in Nelson on Thursday.
“For that brief while I feared it was all over,” Mustafa told XPRESS. “But I did not lose hope and was constantly in touch with ECB. Thanks to the efforts of the board, Aaqib Javed (UAE Coach) and Mazhar Khan (ECB Administrator), the issue was resolved and I’m playing in the World Cup.
“I’m grateful to God that the nightmare did not last long. It’s all part of life and we have ups and downs, but I have put that behind and now completely focus on my game,” he added.
Worked hard
After playing Zimbabwe in the opener, the UAE will take on Ireland on February 25 then meet defending champions India three days later. The UAE will meet Pakistan on March 4 before playing their last group match against South Africa on March 12.
“We need to raise the bar in the World Cup. We can keep the momentum going if we get a positive start against Zimbabwe. We have worked hard and we hope we can transform our efforts into wins,” said Mustafa, who has played three ODIs.
Though the UAE did not register any wins in the warm-up matches, their efforts were praiseworthy. After having lost badly to Australia by 188 runs, the team put up a brave fight before losing to Afghanistan by a close 14 runs in a high scoring match. “The warm up matches helped us get used to the conditions. The boys know their responsibility, and we are all set to go. We have had extensive training sessions in the UAE and we were also lucky to have quality matches against the travelling international teams. That allowed us to analyse where we stood,” he said.
Coach Aaqib Javed while praising Mustafa said: “He is a key player in the team. He has the ability to play according to the situations and is a fine allrounder.”
Javed said the boys were raring to go and are confident of putting up a fine show. “The boys are looking in good shape and are ready for their opening match against Zimbabwe,” he added.
