Dubai: “The winter never felt so warm.” Khurram Khan still feels the excitement coursing through his veins while remembering the United Arab Emirates’ stunning 3-1 ODI series win over Afghanistan in December 2014.
Khurram had played a big hand in that triumph, scoring 270 runs from three matches at an average of 270, including a hundred and two fifties.
Subsequently, they played in the 2015 World Cup but returned home with six defeats in as many matches, but things were looking up.
There was talent and a pathway, but a decade down the road the UAE have not made any other appearances in a global event.
This is despite the UAE having some top-notch cricketing facilities including the ICC Academy.
The Afghans are now a force to reckon with in white-ball formats, but what went wrong with their fellow aspirants?
“It’s not a great picture, to be honest. What I see here is the lack of quality in domestic cricket. This has happened for the last 6-7 years. I’ve seen it going down gradually,” Khurram told PTI.
The former UAE captain, who is now the head coach of Sharjah Cricket Academy, one of the oldest cricket training centres in the Emirates, said the absence of proper domestic 50-over tournaments are hampering his nation’s progress.
“There was only one tournament for a long while and the (Emirates Cricket) Board has started another one — D50. But earlier we had 6-7 50-over tournaments here. That’s what’s hurting the team,” he said.
Khurram said the lack of sufficient tournaments also affected the temperament of upcoming players.
“The boys lack this temperament, technique because they don’t play many longer-version matches. If you play shorter versions, you always start hitting from the first moment. There needs to be some planning and a vision which I think currently is missing,” he added.
Gopal Jasapara, a veteran coach who runs the G-Force Cricket Academy here, agreed with Khurram.
“We are more into quantity than quality and it can give the false picture of growth sometimes. Quality is there, but the youngsters are viewing sports as a way to get a job. Basically, the mindset has changed.
“There are some 60 or 70 cricket grounds in the UAE, you know, privately owned. They just want to keep their ground busy. They organise a lot of tournaments in the evenings for young boys, and they take into the game without so much skills,” said Jasapara.
On the other hand, Afghanistan, who were once based in the UAE for training because of the turmoil back home, are now a top white ball team.
Their players such as Rashid Khan are among the most sought-after players in the T20 leagues across the world.
Khurram explained what set the Afghan cricket apart despite still not having a consistent home base.
“As I mentioned before, we won three straight matches against Afghanistan before the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. For them, it was a moment of shock. The board and the senior players sat together and studied what went wrong.
“But we never did it and now, cricket is kind of stalled in the UAE. The authorities here did not involve players who played 10 or 12 years for the UAE in the developmental programmes. They took people from outside, who had zero ground knowledge.
“That’s where the Afghans took the advantage as they involved all their former players and they took off and they are one of the best teams in the world now,” he explained.
So, how can the UAE travel back to an upper rung of cricket from the current depths?
“The quality of domestic cricket has to improve. These boys who are now playing for the national team are not having any competition domestically and they hardly tour as well.
“They have to play against A-teams from Afghanistan, India or even age groups like under-19s from Sri Lanka or from Pakistan.
“They need it to grow as players and only exposure can help. And all these countries are willing to help if the UAE board takes the initiative,” he added.
Jasapara echoed Khurram’s sentiments.
“There are only a handful of players who are trying to push the limits like Vritya Arvind, a genuine talent.
“We need more matches for all these youngsters to help them reach their potential,” he noted.
