DUBAI // Shahid Afridi's army of UAE-based supporters will get a second chance to see their idol in action within the space of a month, when he lines up alongside a team of baggage handlers and cabin crew at next month's Emirates Twenty20.
The 29-year-old all-rounder will play for Fly Emirates, the domestic club side made up of airline employees, during the weekend festival of the abridged format at The Sevens.
The side, which is otherwise made up of amateur players, will be taking on two English counties, Sussex and Surrey, as well as the South African side, Cape Cobras, on March 19 and 20.
"It is going to be a tough challenge, but I am looking forward to it immensely," said Afridi. "I always enjoy my time in Dubai. I know there is a real passion among cricket fans in the UAE and it will be great to play in front of them."
Afridi, who captains Pakistan in the 20-over game, is in the middle of a two-match ban for ball tampering. He should return for the second of two Twenty20s against England on Saturday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
While the term "freelance crick-eter" may initially have been coined in reference to Andrew Flintoff, the injured England all-rounder, it is Afridi who is really becoming the first Twenty20 hired hand.
He played for the South Australia Redbacks in Australia's recent Twenty20 Big Bash, and will represent Hampshire in the England Twenty20 Cup this summer.
He would also have been certain of a lucrative deal in the Indian Premier League, had Pakistan players not been sidelined by visa issues.
His latest colleagues may only have the chance to call him their teammate for a weekend, but the prospect already has them salivating. "I can't believe that Shahid Afridi will be playing for us," said Nigel Fernandes, the UAE batsman and Fly Emirates captain.
"He is a player I greatly admire. He is a natural talent who can win matches single-handedly.
"It will be an incredible experience for everyone in the team and a real honour to line up beside him."
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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9.30pm: Forever Young
