Dubai: The UAE's skipper Arshad Ali picked up his sixth prize in nine years at the annual Shyam Bhatia cricket awards late on Tuesday.
Ali, who has been the captain of the UAE national team for the past one year, was adjudged the best allrounder with 632 runs and 22 wickets to his credit.
An employee in the commercial visa section of Emirates airline, Ali has won this award on five previous occasions.
Last year, Ali could not compete for the award - a crystal trophy and a cash benefit of Dh4,000 - due to a knee injury
"But I was bent on doing well this year, and the results are there to show that it basically boils down to self-belief, commitment and hard work," Ali said.
The Emirates airline employee has been a consistent performer for both club and country. With more than 400 runs to his credit, Ali led from the front in the UAE, successfully defending the ACC Trophy in Malaysia earlier this summer.
"We are doing well at this moment, but it will be nice to see the UAE play in the ICC World Cup," Ali said.
Delivering the keynote address, Shyam Bhatia, the patron of the awards night for nearly a decade, remarked that he believed in Arshad Ali's capabilities from the first time he met him in 1997.
"We were touring South Africa (with the Air-India squad) when I happened to watch Arshad Ali play. It was at that time I knew he would go on to be a great exponent of the game," Bhatia said.
"These are like the Oscar awards for cricket in the UAE and it is being done entirely for the pure love of the game," Bhatia said.
"I believe in our players and I know how much they look up to some of the legends who have graced the sport over the years," he added.
During the nine-year history of the Shyam Bhatia cricket awards, eminent cricketers such as Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Michael Holding, Clive Lloyd and Imran Khan have graced the occasion at the request of Bhatia.
"It means a lot to our cricketers to have some of the most famous names from the world of cricket come to Dubai and give away his award," Bhatia stated.
"I want to inspire cricketers in this part of the world, and I am convinced these awards go a long way in achieving this objective."
Arshad Ali's teammate at Emirates airline, Kashif Khan, walked away with the best batsman prize, while Faraz Ul Haq of Consolidated Shipping Services took the best bowler prize for his 33 wickets.
Awards were also given to star performers in the junior section along with three select umpires from Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai. The total cash amount for the awards was Dh20,000.
From next year, however, there will be a 25 per cent increase in the total amount of the awards. "Inflation has affected us too and I think it is right to have a 25 per cent increase in the total prize money," Bhatia stated.
