Dubai: Never-say-die attitude and self-belief to win were the key ingredients of the UAE’s success in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup qualifiers being held in Oman.
UAE defeated Nepal in the semi-finals at Al Ameerat on Monday which enabled them to book one of the two places for the Twenty20 World Cup to be held in Australia later this year.
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“We are here to win, not just compete,” Robin Singh, UAE coach, said on the eve of the final against Ireland, who have also booked a place in the World Cup finals. “We were confident of winning against Nepal. Final is also a big game and we want to win that as well, that’s the next step. Fortunately, I have been involved in so many semis and finals and in my experience semi-finals are always difficult than the final.”
Certainly his guidance helped the UAE overcome Nepal, who came in to the semi-finals on a clean slate. “I tried to share that experience with the players to make sure that they understand the magnitude of the game and go there and execute their skills and be as clinical as they can be.”
UAE’s cause was helped in main by the young Vriitya Aravind, who has been plundering runs under pressure during the qualifiers.
As a 19-year-old, did you get any inspiration from the impressive show by the UAE Under-19 team, who won the Plate title in the recently concluded World Cup?
Aravind responded: “Certainly from the Under-19, they did beautifully well and the women’s team qualified for the global qualifier. I think it’s a good time for UAE cricket. All are falling into place and I hope it continues.”
After having clinched the World Cup spot, Robin Singh has already plans in place on how to tackle the best in Australia.
“The next goal is to do well in the World Cup, we have spoken about already. Getting to the World Cup is one thing and performing is another thing. You have to work hard for that as you will be playing some of the best teams in the world,” said the former Indian all-rounder.
“It’s a good challenge and an opportunity for the guys to see where they stand and show that being an associate country we can compete and beat some of the big teams. It will send a strong message and will lift the standard of UAE cricket, get more people into the system. That’s what I want to achieve.”
