When Karthik Meiyappan twisted his ankle in training just before UAE flew to Nepal for a bilateral one-day series last November, it had a couple of notable effects.
The injury led him to miss that tour, meaning the chance to embellish the reputation he had just created for himself in such luminous terms by taking a hat-trick against Sri Lanka at the T20 World Cup would have to wait.
It had a knock-on consequence for one of his closest pals, too, who was looking to follow the leg-spinner’s lead in representing UAE cricket with distinction.
Ashwanth Valthapa had been picked as part of a UAE senior squad for the first time back then. It had been his long-cherished hope that, if he did one day debut for the national team, it would be his mate who presented him with his cap.
Good things come to those who wait. Valthapa was eventually an unused reserve on that tour. Four months later, they are both back as part of the tour party in Kathmandu for the Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series.
In the second match of the series, against Nepal on Sunday, Valthapa did get to debut – and his bestie was on hand to do the needful.
“It was 50-50 overnight and I wasn’t sure it was going to happen,” Valthapa, 21, said. “In the warmups they told me I was going to play and I felt really good.
"To have Karthik and Vriitya [Aravind, another former teammate from UAE’s Under 19 side] around when I made my debut, it felt comfortable inside. It didn’t feel like something new.
“He gave me the cap, which meant even more. I wanted to receive my cap from him which is why I was sad [that Meiyappan was absent on his previous tour]. It just meant I had to wait for him to come back.”
Meiyappan also passed on some of the wisdom he inherited when he made his own international bow back in 2019.
It was actually pretty emotional for me as we have been tight friends for about six or seven years now. We have both dreamt about playing together for UAE. Handing over the cap was an honour for me.
Karthik Meiyappan on handing Ashwanth Valthapa his first cap for the UAE national team
“It was actually pretty emotional for me as we have been tight friends for about six or seven years now,” Meiyappan said. “We have both dreamt about playing together for UAE. Handing over the cap was obviously pretty emotional and an honour for me.
“I wished him all the best. When I got my debut cap, Raz [Ahmed Raza, now the side’s assistant coach] was the captain back then. All he told me was enjoy the game, because your debut is never going to come back.
“That is all that I said to him. Just to enjoy it, and make the most of the chance that you get which he did.”
So close are the two Chennai-born teammates they even share a penchant for tattoos. On his left arm, Valthapa has – among other images - a gramophone to represent a passion of his dad’s, and a moon, representing motherhood for his mum.
Not that his parents were overly enthralled by the idea of him marking his skin indelibly at first. In fact, he only got away with it because of their affection for Meiyappan.
“It started off with Karthik,” Valthapa said. “We are quite close, even our families are quite close. I said, ‘Karthik is getting one, so can I?’
“They think Karthik is a very good guy, so they were like, ‘Oh, Karthik is doing it? If Karthik is doing it, then just get it.’ That is how it started.”
Neither are likely to get ink done to remember Valthapa’s debut by. The 177-run defeat was the latest in a string of sorry performances by the national team, but the young wicketkeeper says the players are doing all they can to remedy the situation.
Ashwanth Valthapa, UAE v Nepal - in pictures
“We are really trying as much as we can,” Valthapa said. “It is not like no-one is giving their all. We are all playing for the team, but the results are clearly not going our way.”
UAE will get two chances to leave a positive impression on Kathmandu, when they face Papua New Guinea on Wednesday and then Nepal a day later.
Thursday’s game will be a portentous one. If the home side win, they will advance directly to the Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe in June. Lose, and the two sides will meet again at the Qualifier Play-off in Namibia at the end of this month.
As such, a huge crowd is anticipated at the Tribhuvan University ground. Such was the case the first time the sides met this week, which Meiyappan appreciated – even if he did invoke the ire of the most vocal section of the ground at times.
“I pretty much love it,” Meiyappan said. “When the crowd are going, that really motivates me. “I want to try to entertain them, too, because at the end of the day they are paying the bucks to come and watch you play and give a good show.
“Trying to be a showman out there is the best thing you can do. It was fun for me, too, and obviously I gave a bit of chirp, too.”
What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
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Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
Results
2.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Mezmar, Adam McLean (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
3pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m; Winner: AF Ajwad, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Gold Silver, Sam Hitchcott, Ibrahim Aseel.
4pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m; Winner: Atrash, Richard Mullen, Ana Mendez.
4.30pm: Gulf Cup Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Momtaz, Saif Al Balushi, Musabah Al Muhairi.
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Al Mushtashar, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
