Twelve matches into a home tournament in which UAE players have had precious few chances to shine, two young bowlers stole the limelight at Dubai International Stadium.
Aayan Khan might only have turned 19 in November, but his talent has long been known about. The left-arm spinner has been playing senior international cricket for the best part of three years, and been an integral part of Gulf Giants’ side for the first three seasons of the DP World International League T20.
The fact he took four wickets for 16 runs against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders could have been a surprise, were it not for the fact he is one of the most precocious teen talents in the game.
What was less expected, though, was the player who played a vital role in winning the game for the Knight Riders.
Ibrar Ahmed is just 20. He has never played for the UAE and was playing his first T20 match of any note. He had caused something of a stir at the Abu Dhabi T10 earlier this winter. But, still, his return on his Knight Riders debut was a bolt from the blue.
The fast bowler, who originates from Waziristan in Pakistan, dismissed England batters James Vince and Jordan Cox cheaply. It contributed to Gulf Giants falling well short in their pursuit of the Knight Riders’ total of 176 for nine.
“I actually couldn’t sleep the whole night in excitement after I got to know from the team management that I would be playing my first game,” Ibrar said.
“I was hopeful of doing well. I am grateful to God to have got such an opportunity to perform at such a huge stage and get such big players out. It’s a happy moment for me and one that will always remain memorable.”
Ibrar has Pakistan fast bowlers like Waqar Younis and Naseem Shah among his heroes, but he says his own ability with the ball is uncoached.
“Much of it is natural,” Ibrar said. “I haven’t been playing professional cricket for long. I came here to work as a wage labourer. Even back home in Pakistan, I hadn’t played much cricket. So it’s all natural.
“[What you see] is the raw power we Pashtuns are generally known for. But I’m sure with more exposure to professional cricket, I will only get better from here.
“This is just the start [for me]. I’m not sure what’s written for me but I will keep my hard work going and do my best wherever I go from here.
“When I first came to the UAE, I never imagined I would play in such a big league like DP World ILT20 but I kept playing for my passion alongside my day job and here I am today because of my passion.”
While Aayan finished on the losing side, he again proved his worth in celebrated company. The left-arm spinner’s haul of Knight Riders wickets included some of the biggest scalps in T20 cricket.
It included, Sunil Narine, the long-serving IPL star for the Kolkata franchise of the same name, his UAE teammate Alishan Sharafu, and Joe Clarke.
His fourth victim, the great Andre Russell, owed much to an extraordinary piece of fielding. Russell launched a delivery towards the long on boundary, where Gerhard Erasmus relayed the ball one-handed while falling over the rope, into the waiting hands of Ibrahim Zadran.
“It was great to get wickets but unfortunately we lost the game today,” Aayan said. “It will be good to win going forward but today we were not good enough.
“Of course, it feels amazing to get players like Andre Russell out at a tournament like the DP World ILT20 and it is particularly great for UAE players who, I hope, will continue to perform well.
“I did well last season and I want to continue doing better this time around too because it will expose me to more top-tier cricket like this.”
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Lexus LX700h specs
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Top 5 concerns globally:
1. Unemployment
2. Spread of infectious diseases
3. Fiscal crises
4. Cyber attacks
5. Profound social instability
Top 5 concerns in the Mena region
1. Energy price shock
2. Fiscal crises
3. Spread of infectious diseases
4. Unmanageable inflation
5. Cyber attacks
Source: World Economic Foundation
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Read more about the coronavirus
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Tips from the expert
Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.
- Sellers should focus on providing high-quality used goods at attractive prices to buyers.
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- Be creative and look around your home for valuable items that you no longer need but might be useful to others.
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.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The Sky Is Pink
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
