Published: Feb 18, 2015, 10:45 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 09, 2015, 11:12 AM (IST)
United Arab Emirates captain Mohammad Tauqir talks ahead of his team’s 2015 World Cup match against Zimbabwe. This will be UAE’s second appearance in the World Cup and their game of the 2015 edition. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Full Coverage
Q: A couple of warm‑up games and a big score against Afghanistan. Do you feel as though the side is reasonably well prepared?
Mohammad Taquir (MT): We had a couple of games in New Zealand also and two warm‑up games in Australia. If I look back, except for Australia game, the rest of the three games we have scored around 300, almost 300 runs, so yeah, batting is good, is strong.
Q: And Zimbabwe as an opposition, how much of a challenge do you think they will be?
MT: We respect Zimbabwe’s side. It’s a good side. If we bowl first we will try to restrict them from as many as possible, and if we bat first, we would like to put up a strong total.
Q: Ireland against West Indies, how much of an inspiration is it for associate teams?
MT: I think it’s a great win for Ireland, and I think most of the associate nations are doing well, and we would like to prove a point, also.
Q: The UAE squad was at the Ireland‑West Indies game the other day. What do you make of the conditions of the ground, the environment, slightly different than what you’d expect back in Dubai?
MT: Whenever we see it’s 300-plus runs. It’s a good ground, a good batting wicket. I think we are also expecting 300-plus, yeah.
Q: It’s nearly 20 years since the UAE has been in a World Cup. What are your memories of watching that ’96 World Cup?
MT: I think it’s an honor for me and for the whole team to represent the country. It’s long back we last played World Cup. Everybody is excited and looking forward to participating in this event.
Q: The World Cup is very important in that it’s the one chance to show the world how cricket in the UAE has progressed. What are your aims in that sense? What are your goals?
MT: See, every individual in the team has his own target and goals. Collectively we are looking forward to at least having a couple of wins against Test nations. That’s what we are targeting for.
Q: What sort of following for cricket is there back in the UAE? How much do they watch?
MT: Predominantly it’s an expat game in the UAE, a lot of Asian, a lot of English, Australian people play there, but I believe our participation in the World Cup would inspire many more Emirati nationals to follow the game with passion.
Courtesy: ICC
