As he tries to work out how to apply for extra luggage allowance on the return trip from Entebbe, Haider Ali might be moved to reflect on just how far he has come in life.
After his first tour with the UAE national team, to Uganda, the spin bowler is heading back with some quirky spoils of success.
For being named best bowler in a tournament that included Nigeria and Kenya, as well as the host team, he was awarded a 32-inch LED TV, and a statue of a hippopotamus.
“It is a very famous animal in Uganda,” Haider said, with an authority on hippos that he would not have had this time two weeks ago.
The series in Uganda was his second in national team colours and, it’s fair to say, more low-key than his first.
He burst on to the scene back in May when he helped the UAE to their finest result yet in international cricket.
Their 2-1 win in T20s against Bangladesh in Sharjah was the national team’s first series victory against a major cricket nation.
In the deciding third game, he took three for seven from four overs, which included a double-wicket maiden.
“Emirates Cricket Board gave me this fantastic opportunity and it felt really good,” he said.
“In my debut series I performed really well but the main thing was we won this series. When you perform for your country and your country wins, the feeling is totally exceptional.”
Haider’s motivation to succeed is fuelled by a unique set of circumstances. His rise to international cricket started in 2010, when he left his remote village of Azmat Shah in Pakistan’s Punjab to relocate to Lahore.
“I’m from a very small area where we have no facilities for cricket and very few opportunities,” Haider said.
“After my matric exams [Pakistan’s secondary school certificate], I moved to Lahore for cricket, and my career started from there.
“I have always believed in myself. Everyone has a different style, but I believe in mine. I am training hard, as I know I have to be consistent to stay at this level.
“I was training every day in Pakistan, bowling 30 or 40 overs, the whole day spent bowling or fielding. That is because I love this game.
“My uncle said my first priority had to be studies, and that after matric he would give me permission to do anything.”
Haider was adopted by his uncle as a baby when his father and mother separated. For much of his life, he was estranged from his birth parents.
“It is heartbreaking for me that I had to grow up without my mum and dad,” he said.
“[My uncle] was like my father. He is still alive, and I respect him a lot. He said that if I studied, my cricket would improve and my skill level, too, because study is important.
“He said, ‘If you have done your matric exams, I promise you can go and play cricket.’ So, until I was 16, I had never played any hardball cricket.”
Despite his humble start, playing tape ball in an area which is known for textiles production and poultry farming – not cricket – Haider progressed rapidly after moving to Lahore.
His distinctive brand of flat left-arm spin brought him to the notice of the selectors of the Pakistan Under-19 side.
When his progress in Pakistan’s domestic game stalled, he broadened his horizons and moved to the UAE to play. Severing ties with his homeland was tough.
“When I left, I told my friends and my uncle, ‘I will make all of you proud, otherwise I won’t be coming back to this village’,” Haider said.
“When I left, everyone was crying. My bond is very good with the people of my village, and now, this is my time.
“I support my whole village. I pay the fees for children to go to school, and their uniforms. This is my time to repay the people of my village.”
Most of the money he makes via cricket is remitted home. That is from his salary for playing for the national team, as well as in the DP World International League T20, where he plays for Dubai Capitals.
“When I left Lahore for Dubai, I met with the people of my village,” he said.
“As much as I believe in myself, they believe even more in me. They were telling me, ‘You can do anything, you are the one who can do something special for our village and our district.’
“They are praying every day for me. When I left Lahore, I had no money – just 10 rupees. That is about 25 fils.
“It was a very hard decision to leave, but it was all about doing it for my family. For my village, I took this decision.”
The move to the UAE also meant distancing himself from someone else again. After relocating to Lahore, Haider had been reunited with his birth father, who had moved there to support him.
He hopes his father was proud of the man Haider had become, even if he did not get to see his own ambition for his son come to fruition.
“One and a half years ago I lost my father,” Haider said. “It had been my father’s dream for me to play international cricket. I was selected to play Abu Dhabi T10, and my father died at that time.
“It hurts me a lot. That is one of my biggest regrets of my life. I didn’t see my father in the past four and a half years, but I hope he was happy.”
Haider did make good on his father’s ambition this year. And he was ready for international cricket because of the experiences he had had playing for Dubai Capitals in the ILT20.
He had been selected by that franchise after catching the eye at the first ILT20 development tournament, which is the annual audition for UAE-based players for the franchise league.
He is particularly thankful to Ahmed Raza, a fellow left-arm spinner and former UAE captain who is on the Capitals coaching staff, and Rohan Mustafa, another ex-UAE captain, for promoting his cause.
“That development tournament was a life-changing event for me,” Haider said.
“I was the best bowler in the first ILT20 development, which meant I got selected for Dubai Capitals. And now Dubai Capitals is like my family.”
Playing for the Capitals has meant rubbings shoulders with some of the stars of the international game, like Sam Billings, David Warner and Rovman Powell.
Attacking players like that appreciated Haider’s approach to the game, he reckons.
“I am totally aggressive,” Haider said. “When I am bowling in the nets, I treat it as though I am playing in an international match.
“Sam Billings and David Warner loved my attitude. They thought I didn’t look like another left-arm spinner, and thought I had something special.
“They focused on me, and Sam Billings is now like my best friend. He has always supported me, backing me up.”
Following his success after elevation to the national team, Haider wants more. The next major assignment will be the Asia Cup in September.
With the UAE pitted in a group with India and Pakistan, the challenge is a tough one, but Haider is far from daunted.
“I just want to change the direction of UAE cricket,” Haider said. “We are good enough and we just want to show the world that the UAE is also a very good team.
“We are focused on the Asia Cup, but I also want to do something special in one-day cricket. I am not travelling home because we have important series.
“Inshallah, you will see in the future how UAE cricket is growing. I want to do something special for this country.
“The Emirates Cricket Board has been feeding our family for the past three and a half years, so it is our responsibility to take care of this team.
“It is not only a team, it is a family, and it is our responsibility to take care of our family.”
