Dubai. UAE women’s team are gearing up for the ICC Women’s World T20 Qualifier 2018 in the Netherlands commencing from July 7 to 14 with the motto: “One dream, One team.”
Skipper Humaira Tasneem on arrival in Netherlands said: “Our number one goal is to qualify for the ICC World T20. So our motto is ‘One dream, One team.’ If we play as a team and go according to our plans and strategies whilst also being tactical, then we are pretty much on target.”
UAE along with Thailand had qualified from the Asian region to play in this qualifier. “We want to earn the right to qualify for the World Cup and play against teams like Australia, India and New Zealand,” she added.
UAE team had undergone intense training under coach Murali Sockalingam, who believes that the team has the ability to make an impact at the international stage. “It is for the first time that the UAE team is on the world stage against opposition like Bangladesh and the Netherlands [in the league] who already have international experience. Playing them is the toughest challenge but our objective is to play the World T20 in the West Indies by winning the Qualifiers,” remarked Sockalingam, who was one of UAE consistent scorers in domestic cricket before turning a coach.
UAE is made up of players who have been performing consistently and have the talent to take on the best like allrounder Esha Oza, Nisha Ali and former Sri Lanka captain Chamani Senevirathne.
The cold conditions in Netherlands will be a challenge for the team. Nisha had hogged the limelight in the six matches at the Asia Qualifier with 12 wickets that included tournament-best figures of five for seven against Thailand.
“Keeping ourselves injury-free is very important. There have been times where we have lost important players because of injuries. We want to make sure that we go into the league matches with our full strength and give our absolute all in the matches. This way we can be one of the top teams in our pool,” remarked Tasneem.
