Sharjah: The UAE women’s team, which won the GCC Women’s Twenty20 Championship in Oman recently, is looking to build on their success through more international exposure and work towards qualifying for the next World Cup.
This winning team was felicitated for their GCC Championship triumph through a colourful function at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium with David East, the chief executive officer of the Emirates Cricket Board presenting the players with medals.
Both East and Mazhar Khan, the administrator of the Emirates Cricket Board, urged women cricketers to work hard to qualify for the women’s World Cup in 2017 in England.
The UAE women’s team, led by Charvi Bhatt, defeated Oman, Qatar and Kuwait in the GCC event with Subha Venkataraman and Samiya Saleem of the UAE bagging the best batswoman and best bowler awards in the tournament.
Speaking to Gulf News, Manvi Dhodhi, the women’s team manager, who is also a qualified level one coach, said: “Our triumph is paving the way for more participation and will attract more women into the game. In June, the UAE women’s team will fly out to play against Thailand and in October, we will be hosting a series against the Nepal women’s team.”
Mohammad Hyder, a former UAE player, is the current coach of women’s team.
“Anyone interested to play the game and sharpen their skills can attend the camp conducted by Hyder on Friday and Saturdays at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The average age of the women’s team is around 16 and it is important for more talent to come forward,” Dhodhi added.
The preparation for the second edition of the GCC championship too will commence soon.
“The second edition of the GCC championship, in which we will have to defend our title, will be held in December in Qatar. We want to carry on winning and hence sharpen our talents. We have plans to stage matches against Under-15 boys as part of our preparation during weekends,” Dhodhi said.