Shaiman Anwar credited his success to the UAE coaching staff after his brilliant World Cup century was recognised at the 15th Shyam Bhatia Awards.
– Graeme Smith urges England to recall KP
– Twitter reacts to KKR’s IPL win over Delhi
– #360debate: Is Anderson England’s greatest?
In February, the 36-year-old became the first UAE player to hit a World Cup ton when he scored 106 against Ireland in their Group B match in Brisbane.
Despite coming up against India, West Indies, South Africa, Pakistan and Zimbabwe, the right-handed batsman finished the campaign with 311 runs.
“Aaqib Javed (coach) and his team have been a big help so I think this award is also for them,” said Anwar, who received his special accolade from former South Africa captain Graeme Smith.
“Without them I don’t think the century would’ve been possible. I obviously have the ability but the coaches had belief in me. They put in a lot of hard work and they prepared me to make sure I’m in the right frame of mind. They believed in us players and it gave me the confidence to go out there and perform.”
Anwar was extremely honoured to receive the award, and admitted there was no special recipe for scoring the runs Down Under.
“There were no secrets. I just played according to my strengths,” he said. “The conditions were a bit tough but I got used to it and once I was comfortable I just played my shots and luckily it paid off.”
WATCH Shaiman Anwar become the first UAE batsman to score a century at @cricketworldcup: http://t.co/0jUwB8TNWo pic.twitter.com/cbaFNbVEvz
— ICC (@ICC) April 5, 2015
Anwar was back on the stage as the UAE team’s participation at the World Cup, their first since 1996, was recognised.
Anwar was just one of many winners in different categories which included best umpire and batsmen in the annual event, supported by the Emirates Cricket Board.
Among them was UAE all-rounder Rohan Mustafa, who won best cricketer for Sharjah Cricket Council.
“It’s a big achievement for me as I’ve been thinking about this award for the last three years,” said the 26-year-old. “I believe it’s deserved because I’ve scored runs in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah and I’ll be back to try and win this award again next year.”
The evening was particularly special for spinner Heena Harish Hotchandani. The 14-year-old won UAE’s best female cricketer award after helping the country win the GCC Twenty20 Cup in Oman.
“It’s a real privilege to win this award. It was pleasure meeting two stars in Shyam Bhatia and Graeme Smith,” said the pupil.
