Retiring UAE batsman Khurram Khan open to coaching role

Denzil Pinto 04:36 06/06/2015
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  • Class act: Khurram Khan.

    Former captain Khurram Khan is open to the possibility of “assisting the UAE in any coaching capacity” after announcing his retirement on Friday.

    The long-serving batsman ended his 14-year international career after UAE lost their first-round ICC Intercontinental Cup match by an innings and 26 runs to Ireland in Malahide.

    Although he scored 24 and 10 in his last two innings, the batsman has shown tremendous ability in carrying the UAE since playing his first match in 2001 after moving from Pakistan in 1999.

    Despite juggling a full-time job as a flight purser for Emirates Airline and a professional cricketer, he continued to excel on the international stage and shortly made his List A and ODI debuts in 2004 and since then hasn’t looked back.

    Still going strong in his 40s, he was the batting mainstay of the team at the 2014 World T20 and this year’s World Cup but says the time was right to call it quits just two weeks before his 44th birthday.

    “Everyone has to retire someday but I planned it very carefully and definitely wanted to play in the World Cup so I felt this was the right time,” said Khan, who scored over 5,000 runs in all formats of the game.

    “There were so many questions being asked like how long will I carry on and I was at that age where I had to end it. I don’t think it was a surprise to people but that’s the way it is,” he told Sport360.

    He added: “It was definitely a sad moment leaving the field for the final time. I never knew it would be that hard and it was very satisfying to see that my team-mates clapped and respected me when I left the field.”

    Acknowledging he has helped UAE cricket grow, Khan is keen to see that trend continue in some form of coaching role.

    “I’ve played cricket in the UAE for a very long time and I would like to be involved in some capacity when I’m off work. I will speak with Emirates Cricket Board and assist possibly as a batting consultant, he added.

    “I would love to start straight away because I know the team. Once you reach the top level of cricket, you must keep improving.”

    With 146 international caps, Khan has no regrets. 

    “I’m very satisfied and a very happy person to be honest,” he replied when asked of how he will look back at his time at the crease. 

    “Definitely playing in the 2015 World Cup was a big bonus and I achieved what I wanted to do since I was a young boy. I achieved everything and there is nothing that I can say I could’ve done differently and I’m retiring today as a very happy man.”

    His batting brilliance saw him produce some fine knocks, most notably his unbeaten 132 in the ODI against Afghanistan in November. It was no surprise he highlighted that innings as his most memorable, especially as he became the oldest ODI centurion aged 43 years and 162 days overtaking Sanath Jayasuriya’s record of 39 years and 212 days.

    “It was the first ODI hundred for me and if I had scored a century at the World Cup, then that would’ve been the highlight but it didn’t happen,” said Khan, who scored 582 runs in 16 one-day internationals.

    “I didn’t know at the time I was the oldest person to scored a century in ODIs but that was a very good performance.”

    Khan singled out Aaqib Javed as the best coach he’s ever worked with, saying the ex-Pakistan pacer has been a major factor in UAE’s rise on the world stage.

    “Definitely by far the best I’ve worked under,” he said. “One of the reasons why I rate him very high is because he completely changed how we approached different aspects of the game especially mine. He made recommendations on how to improve my game and he played a big team role.”

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