Fast-bowler Ahsan Ali credited his UAE Under-19 call-up to coach Aaqib Javed for showing belief in him after missing out on the World Cup squad.
The 18-year-old was one of the unlucky players to be omitted from the provisional squad for the final 15-man party for last year’s ICC Under-19 World Cup.
But he was rewarded for his hard work since then as he was named in the 14-man squad, which will travel to Malaysia for their ACC Premier League later this month.
“I worked a lot on my fitness and Aaqib told me in what ways I should swing the ball and how to increase my pace and that’s what I did to improve,” said the Pakistani Islamia Secondary School pupil.
.@EmiratesCricket Under-19 coach Aaqib Javed: Outdoor training is crucial for the boys #UAE http://t.co/JhCbPZaFc6 pic.twitter.com/rhHPnztoQ8
— Sport360° (@Sport360) August 10, 2015
“Aaqib’s advice was really inspiring. He told me so many things which I’m now doing. It was quite disappointing not to make the final squad.
“I felt very sad that time because it was an ICC World Cup and it was where I could showcase my skills on the world stage.”
The Emirates Cricket Training student put that setback behind him and was invited by Javed to practice with the seniors in their preparation for the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
He was subsequently named in the 30-man provisional World Cup party but failed to make the cut.
Time to drop in on #UAE #Cricket and see how U19’s ACC Premier League training is going. pic.twitter.com/hGk4IBKYz4
— UAE Cricket Official (@EmiratesCricket) July 29, 2015
But having taken 12 wickets, including five for Sharjah in their final loss to Abu Dhabi in April’s Al Ain Water Under-19 Inter-Emirate tournament, he beat 100 cricketers to be named in the final UAE 14-man squad for Malaysia.
Ali acknowledges there will be difficult games against Afghanistan, Malaysia, Nepal, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait for the 50-over event between August 28 and September 3, but he is keen to prolong his
international career.
“I never gave up hope of playing for the UAE but now I want to go and do really well in Malaysia bec-ause I want to represent the country at senior level one day,” he said.
