Published: Feb 27, 2015, 08:00 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 27, 2015, 08:00 PM (IST)
Perth: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) coach, Aaqib Javed, has said that his team are looking to make a big impression in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, which will help persuade the International Cricket Council (ICC) to review their decision to reduce the number of teams at the big event. Aaqib also said that the UAE are looking to play more games against the bigger teams so that they can grow. UAE have played well so far as they have ran Zimbabwe and Ireland close. With four games to go, against some tough sides, they face a big test.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of UAE’s practice session at the WACA, Aaqib said, “We have got four games and they will decide where we want to be. I feel we want to put a lot of pressure on ICC to review their decision. When we will do well against the other teams, they will give us more chances to play. When we will give the bigger sides a tough time, when we will compete, they will definitely consider giving us more games.” The ICC are considering dropping four teams for the next World Cup, which would mean that the Associates have a lesser chances of making it.
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Aaqib also spoke about the progress UAE has made in cricket in the last few years. “We want to improve as a team. For that, you need good support staff and facilities around them. Now, we’ve got the ICC Academy, which has some of the best facilities in the world. We are on the right track. In the coming four years, we will go a long way,” he said. Read: ICC and Associates and World Cup cricket
Coming into the ICC World Cup 2015, UAE have had a very settled unit and Aaqib said that their preparation has been very good. “This is what you call planning and preparation. If you change your players every other day, like look at Pakistan, why I am saying they are not well prepared is because recently they played few series in UAE and none of the series the fast bowlers were there. This means that they don’t know what is their strength or final XI. Look, I knew three months ago what my batting order is. You are using all the tours and the resources you have,” he said. Read: ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: ICC cosy club wants few gate crashers at its party
It is quite interesting that Aaqib is now coaching the UAE. Early in his career, he played numerous matches for Pakistan in Sharjah. In fact, he has a hat-trick against India at the venue, which is one of the highlights of his career. “I’ve got nice memories of Sharjah. I would say nice memories of the 1990s. We really enjoyed playing under Imran (Khan). That was the golden era for Pakistan – outstanding bowlers, exciting batsmen. So, whenever I go to Sharjah, the memories are still there,” he said.
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(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Correspondent with CricketCountry and anchor for the site’s YouTube Channel. His Twitter handle is @nishad_45)
