#360view: ECB central contracts are a step in right direction

Denzil Pinto 06:59 23/07/2016
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  • Beneficiary: Captain Amjad Javed.

    When the UAE national team arrived at Dubai airport from New Zealand in the early hours of February 4, 2014, former coach Aaqib Javed immediately expressed thoughts of seeing his amateur players turn professional soon.

    Here was a bunch of part-timers who had just qualified for the 2015 World Cup and were set to play in their first World Twenty20 in Bangladesh six weeks later.

    Now, almost 30 months later, that is a reality with the UAE cricket team boasting 12 professionals following the introduction of the central contracts by the Emirates Cricket Board.

    Imran Haider, Qader Ahmed, Rohan Mustafa, Mohammad Shahzad, Mohammed Qasim, Mohammed Usman, Rameez Shahzad and Ghulam Shabbir have put themselves into the UAE cricket’s history books by becoming the eight full-time players for the next two years.

    Also on the roster are the experienced quartet of captain Amjad Javed, spinner Ahmed Raza, pacer Mohammed Naveed and batsman Shaiman Anwar, who are all on one-year part-time deals.

    The dozen can now call themselves professional cricketers and just like any other sport, will be able to train regularly five days a week, developing their skills and knowledge through practice sessions and gym work at the ICC Academy under the guidance of UAE coaching staff.

    The cricketers will no doubt find things more challenging than what it was before. Previously, the players finished their day jobs and then attended training in the evening in the build-up to matches. Now with the deals in place, they can focus solely on cricket and build on the country’s achievements.

    Those recent feats include their maiden World Twenty20 in 2014 and their first appearance in the World Cup since 1996. This year, they reached the Asia Cup, beating Afghanistan, Oman and Hong Kong to claim the lone berth. If all this was achieved as amateurs, think about what can now be done with a number of professionals in the team?

    All the other players in future squads, who do not have a deal, will not just try to force their way into the starting eleven, but also show they’re worthy of a contract when the ECB decides to renew or issue new ones.

    Immediate success will not come overnight. But whoever is named Aaqib Javed’s permanent successor, he can look forward to working in a professional era set-up and working with a group of hungry players who want to succeed.

    The announcement also bodes well for domestic cricketers and aspiring youths in this country. The UAE are fortunate to be home to many expats with hundreds of sub-continent players taking to the field on weekends and evenings.

    If any of them ever wanted to follow in the footsteps of Amjad Javed and Co, they only had to visit any of the ECB’s five Talent Hunts in April. There was no shortage of aspiring talent, with hundreds hoping to make their dream come true of playing international cricket.

    Shabbir is a prime example. The Pakistani-born cricketer has not even donned the UAE colours, but given his potential and having completed the ICC’s compulsory four- year residency rule, the 30-year-old has also been rewarded with a full-time deal.

    Promising youths can also be encouraged with the latest developments.

    Despite the ECB fielding Under-19 teams in tournaments, the pool of players who could be promoted to senior level is small. One problem the ECB faces is that once children turn 18, they cannot stay on their parents’ sponsorship unless they continue studying or find employment in the UAE.

    This is a huge step in showing the stars of tomorrow that becoming a professional cricketer is possible once they finish studying.

    Shahzad is adamant that the UAE can be the top Associate side within the next few years. It will require a lot of hard work and dedication and with the central contracts handed out, there’s no reason why that can’t be achieved.

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