Dubai: Two UAE captains Khurram Khan and Mohammad Tauqir will be part of the Masters Champions League (MCL) early next year. Khurram, who was instrumental in UAE qualifying for 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup and 2014 Twenty20 World Cup through his sterling performance, was snapped by Team Sagittarius in the auction for $22,000.
Tauqir, who led UAE in the 2015 World Cup, was signed up by Team Leo for $10,000.
Speaking to Gulf News, Khurram said: “I am very excited to be part of an awesome team. It is a wonderful opportunity for an Associate player like me to share the dressing room with giants of the game. It is a great initiative by MCL and I am looking forward to have a masterclass time.”
Team Sagittarius is made of players like Australian star Adam Gilchrist and former New Zealand pacer Shane Bond.
Though Tauqir had not officially announced his retirement, he said in an exclusive chat: “I agreed to play in the MCL as I had decided to retire from international cricket. I am very happy to be immediately stepping into playing in the first edition of the MCL which will be on line with the Indian Premier League (IPL) concept. I am eagerly looking forward to rubbing shoulders with the greats of the game.”
Team Leo has players like Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene and New Zealander Daniel Vettori guiding them, along with names like Herschelle Gibbs and Brendan Taylor.
However, the team that will have a UAE flavour is Gemini Arabians, owned by Nalin Khaitan. Speaking to Gulf News, Nalin, who captains Interface team in domestic cricket here and is a prolific scorer, said: “We are an UAE team and we are delighted to get Kumar Sangakkara and Virender Sehwag to look after our batting. From the icons, we went on to get Muttiah Muralitharan and Saqlain Mushtaq because having played cricket myself in UAE over the years, I know how the pitches are here. These two off-spinners with excellent skills will call them will be very useful.
“We call ourselves Gemini Arabians because we are the first team from UAE. We are also a domestic team here — made up of players who ply their trade in the UAE. Our aim is also to promote cricket among the Emiratis and hence we will create opportunities for young Emiratis to mix with the legends — like walking out with them before the start of match during the teams’ line-up.”
Present during the auction were David East, Chief Executive Officer of the Emirates Cricket Board, and Ameen Farooq, the secretary of the Dubai Cricket Council.
“It is indeed a great honour for UAE to host such an event bringing with the great stars. It will even boost tourism here because people from around the world can fly in and see all the greats in a tournament,” Farooq said.
