The DP World International League T20 has given the leading players of the UAE the chance to advertise their wares to potential suitors in other franchise leagues around the world.
Given that three of the sides in the competition are run by Indian Premier League franchise-owners, a ticket to the biggest league of all is no longer beyond the realms of possibility. Impress in the ILT20, and they could not fail to be noticed.
Just one UAE player to date has been recruited to the IPL. Back in 2017, Chirag Suri was part of the Gujarat Lions squad in India, although he did not make the starting line up for any of the side’s matches in their final campaign as a replacement team.
Many of the home-based players had unofficial attachments with IPL sides when it was exiled to the UAE for safety reasons during Covid, chiefly as net bowlers.
Zahoor Khan, for one, impressed while with Mumbai Indians in their Covid bio-bubble in Abu Dhabi in 2020.
As such it was no surprise when Robin Singh, who juggles coaching the UAE national team and the various incarnations of the MI franchise, snapped up Zahoor ahead of the first ILT20.
Robin had more valuable intel ahead of the first season of the new competition, too, hence he moved straightaway to recruit Muhammad Waseem.
Each have repaid the faith many times over already in the competition. Waseem, most spectacularly, when he laced 86 in a brutal 44-ball assault in MI Emirates’ thrashing of Desert Vipers last time out.
Waseem possesses the sort of talent with the bat that is much coveted in T20 franchise cricket – the IPL included.
The issue of IPL involvement is blurred for many of the UAE’s leading cricketers, though, on account of their passports. While Zahoor and Waseem represent UAE in international cricket, they are both Pakistani citizens.
Since 2008’s Mumbai terrorist attacks, the IPL has effectively barred the involvement of Pakistani cricketers in the league.
The Indian ownership of five of the ILT20 franchises is part of the reason there are no Pakistan internationals involved in it, either.
Waseem himself would not be drawn on whether he can foresee himself in the IPL in future, only saying he hopes the new UAE competition leads to more opportunities elsewhere.
“I believe that my performance in the season so far has been good and I will keep doing better,” Waseem said.
“I hope that I will get more opportunities to play in the future.”
His assault at the top of the innings against Desert Vipers stunned the side who had been the most impressive outfit in the ILT20 to date.
Tom Moody, the two-time World Cup winning coach of the Vipers, said “both the openers [Waseem shared 141 in 12.3 overs with Andre Fletcher] batted extremely well” allowing MI to post a total that was “way beyond a par score for that surface”.
Waseem said it was “surely one of my best performance so far,” and compared it to the century against Ireland which took UAE to the T20 World Cup Qualifier title in Oman last year.
“We had to chase 160 and we were 15 for two,” said Waseem, who is ranked No 14 in the ICC ratings for batters in T20I cricket.
“Me and Rohan [Mustafa] chased the score, I hit a 112, and UAE won, so it was a special performance for me.”
Waseem has been glad to have his family to watch him from the stands in the ILT20 matches, and is particularly grateful to wife Sana for her support.
“My family and friends are very happy and they are excited to see me continue my form with the MI Emirates,” he said.
“They believe and keep motivating me whether I perform good or not, especially my wife. She motivates and supports me at every stage of my life.”
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
The specs
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
