Out of injury, star all-rounder Ali stirs up local scene once again

Dubai: UAE's star all-rounder Saqib Ali is one of those who seems to be getting better with age. He bagged the Player of the Tournament award in Dubai Cricket Council's A division tournament, scoring 395 runs with two centuries and bagging 13 wickets.

Speaking to Gulf News after receiving the most prestigious individual award of the Blenheim Champions Trophy, Ali said: "I was very particular to prove that I am in top form ever since an injury had sidelined me for nearly two months. I feel so happy to have performed with the bat and ball in this top tournament and against top teams in the UAE."

Recovery after surgery

After a string of brilliant all-round performances for the UAE national team, Ali suffered a medial meniscus tear and had to undergo surgery. Through adequate rest and help from national team physiotherapist Chitrala Sudhakar, Ali recovered by December last year and was selected to play for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Associate and Affiliate team against the England team. Ali, who lives in Abu Dhabi, drove down to Dubai for all the matches to represent Ibsons, who finished runner-up in the tournament before losing the final to the Wings Group — made up of top players from Afghanistan.

"It would have been great to win the tournament for Ibsons but unfortunately during the final it was not our day," added Ali, who scored 119 against Interface Transworld and 104 against Zultec to ensure Ibsons a place in the final.

Thirty-four-year-old Ali has scored 1,544 runs from 17 first class matches and has an impressive average of 53.24.