Maratha Arabians have made a statement of intent over reclaiming the Abu Dhabi T10 title by signing Nicholas Pooran for the new campaign.
The Trinidadian left-hander has been the most consistently destructive batsman over the four-season history of the 10-over competition.
Earlier this year at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, he powered Northern Warriors to their second title in the event. Over the course of the campaign, he was the second highest run-getter, and had the highest strike-rate.
Now he has switched allegiance to Maratha Arabians, who are rebuilding their side after failing to make the knockout stage last season, when they were defending the title they won in 2019.
Pooran will be joined at his new team by Robin Singh, the UAE coach, who has overseen both of Northern Warriors’ title wins in the T10.
The new season of the T10 is scheduled to start on November 19, and culminate on National Day weekend, on December 4.
That means it will follow two months of high stakes cricket in the Emirates. The suspended Indian Premier League will resume in Dubai on September 19.
The IPL will be followed by the T20 World Cup, across the UAE and Oman, from October 17 to November 14.
Pooran is likely to feature in both, for Punjab Kings and West Indies respectively, and Maratha Arabians are delighted to have secured his services for the T10, too.
“This year we have been planning something different, and we are targeting the trophy, which is why we have gone for the best,” Anurag Maheshwari, the franchise’s owner, said.
“Pooran is the best player there has been in T10. He is a one-man show. Robin was also very keen that we took Pooran, which is why we went for him.”
Pooran is the second big name to confirm for the T10 in consecutive days. On Saturday, it was announced former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis will make his debut in the competition. He has been recruited to lead Bangla Tigers.
The draft is likely to take place early next month, and Maheshwari is hopefully of building a competitive side to support Pooran.
“Last year it was late when we bought the team, and the time period until the start of the competition was short,” Maheshwari said.
“It wasn’t possible to win the trophy last year, but this year we are in a good space.”
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
