Having already amassed two years’ worth of international experience as well as tasting success in T20 franchise leagues on opposite sides of the world, it feels remarkable that Aayan Khan is still only 18.
The UAE whizzkid’s ascent to senior cricket has been almost entirely seamless, so the fact he experienced a rare dropped stitch on Sunday was noteworthy.
For once, a team including Aayan failed to win a T20 final. His Montreal Tigers side were defending their title at the GT20 Canada in Brampton, Ohio.
He had been central to their win in the tournament 12 months earlier, as well as in their march to the top of the standings in the regular season this time, too.
But then they were beaten by eight wickets in the decider against Toronto Nationals, for whom Junaid Siddique, Aayan’s UAE teammate, shone.
Despite missing out on another winner’s medal, Aayan was sanguine about the experience in Canada.
“It has been really good to be a part of another final and being table toppers shows what a great franchise we are,” Aayan said ahead of his flight back to Dubai.
“Winning and losing is a part of the game, and it was just not our day. We had really good league games, won most of them so we were confident but just couldn’t get over the line.
“I’m proud of my team. It’s an honour to be a part of this great franchise and bunch of superstars who worked hard and gave it our all.”
Even though he does not turn 19 until November, playing alongside stars of the world game in franchise cricket is beginning to feel like standard practice for Aayan.
Fortunately for UAE cricket, he is not the only one: his national team colleagues like Junaid, Zahoor Khan and Muhammad Waseem were also involved in the GT20.
The competition in Canada included the likes of David Warner, Marcus Stoinis, Sherfane Rutherford and Shakib Al Hasan.
And Aayan was again captained by Chris Lynn, the Australian batter whom he played alongside when winning last year’s GT20, as well as the first International League T20 with Gulf Giants.
The Goa-born teenager says he has learnt much from a player whom he says treats him “like a little brother”.
“I have been with him for some franchises now and spending time with him has made me more mature on and off the field,” Aayan said of Lynn.
“One specific thing he tells me is always believe in myself, which is really important, and has helped me a lot to be calm in pressure situations.
“He has helped me a lot on the field by letting me know where to bowl in different conditions. It is such a great experience for me to be with him – he is a really good person to be with.
“It is nice to play alongside him, win tournaments with him, and hopefully there are many more to come.”
After returning from Canada, the UAE contingent’s next assignment will be a return to international duty.
After the faltering start they made with three defeats in a home series involving Scotland and Canada, the national team will bid to revive their Cricket World Cup League 2 campaign next month.
They will tour Namibia for a one-day international tri-series, which also involves the USA, starting in mid-September.
Later in the year they are also set to feature in the Emerging Nations Cup in Oman. That is a T20 competition also involving Hong Kong and Oman, as well as the A teams of Asia’s five Test-playing nations.
For his part, Aayan will enter those series equipped with more experience of rubbing shoulders with the stars of the game – as well as some fond memories of thriving against them.
Although the young left-armer is renowned for his youthful innocence, he has for a role model one of the sport’s more controversial characters.
It makes sense that an aspiring left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder would choose Shakib as his hero. The Bangladesh great does, though, have a penchant for controversy, as shown in the final stages of the tournament on Canada.
Bangla Tigers Mississauga were knocked out of the competition after they forfeited their eliminator to Toronto Nationals.
Rain meant no play was possible in that game. As the clock ticked towards the cut-off time, the match officials decided only a Super Over could be played, as per the playing regulations.
But Shakib, the Bangla Tigers captain, didn't turn up at the toss for the Super Over in protest.
The controversy will not cloud Aayan’s favourite moment of the GT20, though, when he dismissed Shakib earlier in the tournament.
“It is such a big thing for me,” Aayan said. “Last season I was playing alongside him, and he is a big role model for me as one of the best all-rounders and left-arm spinners in the world.
“I follow him a lot. He is a superstar and has played so many leagues and made records, so my favourite memory is to get him out.”
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
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A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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Company Profile
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Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
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5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Wednesday and the pair embraced but he failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset was due to a personal matter.
