When the UAE narrowly missed out on a chance of direct qualification for the 2015 World Cup last year, it seemed like a great opportunity lost. However, Khurram Khan and his band of merry men finally kept their date with the marquee event — earning one of the two play-off slots in the qualifiers with an extremely creditable and consistent show in New Zealand.
It will be after a gap of nearly two decades and five Worlds Cups that the UAE will show up in the 50-over showpiece once again — the last time being in 1996 as an associate country under the captaincy of Sultan Zarawani. This time around, they have done better — having also practically assured themselves of official One Day International status (it’s waiting for ICC ratification) apart from the Cup berth.
For a country that has prided itself as a good host of international cricket (first in Sharjah and now as the home venue of Pakistan for the last four years), the UAE has had only fleeting moments of glory at the highest level of the game — like the ’96 appearance or the odd participation in the Asia Cup. It’s a different story that they got hammered on the big stages, for the gulf in standards with the top countries continues to be insurmountable.
The current bunch, under the strong-willed Khurram and coach Aaqib Javed, have overshot expectations over the past year. Late last year, they underlined their growing prowess as a capable Twenty20 outfit when they qualified for the upcoming World T20 in Bangladesh. They were extremely consistent in the Intercontinental Cup as well, carrying away the positives from there to beat more experienced opponents like Hong Kong, Kenya and Namibia on the trot in the alien conditions of New Zealand.
One cannot really thank coach Javed enough. He changed the work ethic of the UAE’s cricketers over nearly two years and instilled a ‘can-do’ belief in them.
It would be naive though to expect that the back-to-back qualifications for two World Cups will spark a revolution of sorts in the game’s culture in the UAE. The biggest problem stems from the nature of the migrant expat population who comprise the team, as this offers no guarantee for the next generation of cricketers in the pipeline.
There are a bunch of talented individuals who are primed to turn out in the Under-19 World Cup here in February, but it’s anybody’s guess as to how many of them are ready to stick to cricket as a future vocation. The only hope lies in the fact that Javed is the coach of the youth team as well — and the Emirates Cricket Board should move quickly to retain him for a longer term to help groom the successors of Khurram & Co.
For the moment though, it’s time to raise a toast to Javed’s boys and wish them luck for the World Cup campaigns!
