Sport | Cricket

Charvi sets aim at winning in Thailand

Leg spinner Charvi Ajay Bhatt will lead the UAE Under-19 in the upcoming Asian Cricket Council (ACC) women's championship to be held in Thailand.

  • By K.R. Nayar, Senior Reporter
  • Published: 23:53 December 6, 2008
  • Gulf News

Dubai: Leg spinner Charvi Ajay Bhatt will lead the UAE Under-19 in the upcoming Asian Cricket Council (ACC) women's championship to be held in Thailand.

"It's a great opportunity and it will be a great experience for me. I am expecting full support from my teammates and I am sure all of us will give our best," Charvi told Gulf News.

"We have been working hard for nearly one year to do well in an international tournament," she added.

The tournament is set for December 13 to 23. "We have a very balanced team but our bowling will be our strength. We have some very good medium pacers," added Charvi, who had started off as a medium pacer but switched to leg spin.

Suman Sharma, a former Ranji Trophy player from Delhi and a qualified coach has been coaching the team.

Hard work

"We have been working hard under Suman Sharma at the camp for the last few months.

"All that we can do now is to give our best and hope for the best," said Charvi, who is a student of the American University in Dubai.

Natasha Michael Cherriath is the vice captain of the team.

Charvi had toured Malaysia as a member of the UAE women's team, that participated in the ACC Women's tournament last year.

"It was our team's first international outing and I learned a lot from that tour.

"We are now going to Thailand too with the aim of learning from every match.

"We are not yet a professional team but through such exposure we can improve," she said.

UAE is in Group A along with Hong Kong, Qatar, Iran, Thailand and Oman. In Group B is Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore, Kuwait, Bhutan and China.

"Hong Kong will be our main opponent but the others need not be a problem. However we will not take any team lightly," assured Charvi.

Coach Suman, who had also worked as the assistant coach of Indian women's team, said: "I am sure the girls will return with something to cheer about."

Team: Charvi Ajay Bhatt (Capt), Natasha Michael Cherriath (vice-captain), Samiya Saleem, Bhairavi Prakash, Jesar Maqsood Shah, Sneha Sankar, Malitha Thirumalai Anantham Pillai, Maitrayee Makaranda Kulkarni, Monique Gilda D'Souza, Dipanki Borcar, Aashna Lalit Khemani, Spoorthy Prakash, Rabia Maqsood Shah and Humaira Tasneem.

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