Sharjah: The UAE women’s team look set to go all the way to the top as they prepare for the inaugural Gulf Cup Twenty20 women’s cricket tournament, which will be hosted by Oman Cricket from December 15 to 20.
Apart from the UAE, hosts Oman, Kuwait and Qatar will participate in the tournament that will be played on a round-robin basis before the top two sides meet in the final. “The team is high in spirit and is looking forward to win this,” said captain Charvi Bhatt. “We have worked hard and are confident we will come back successfully with the trophy.”
Do well
Around 40 girls were shortlisted in the initial list before the final 15-member team was announced recently. “We have kept our focus on all the three departments (bowling, batting and fielding). As a captain there are lots of things I need look into and there is always pressure. But I believe in my players and they know their responsibilities. We are not taking any team lightly and will perform to the best of our ability,” Charvi said.
The team has been training under the watchful eyes of coach Mohammad Hyder. “I have personally known him from 2007 since I started playing cricket. He knows every player’s strength and weakness and works on it accordingly. He has been a big support system for the team,” Charvi added.
Hyder said: “I’m happy with the way the team has progressed during the training camp. We have had intense training sessions every day for over two months at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.”
Heena Hotchandani from India and Sri Lanka’s Kavisha Kumari are the two debutants in the team. “We have a good mix of players and it’s a well balanced team. We have a good number of allrounders, which should give us more options,” Hyder added.
Emirates Cricket Board administrator Mazhar Khan said: “This is the first time this tournament is being held and will happen every year on a rotation basis. The tournament becomes an important one for the Gulf countries and will help them improve their standards playing at a competitive level. I’m confident our girls will return with the trophy.”
