While watching a World Cup Qualifier game, my 9-year-old Cricket crazy nephew asked “ Who are these guys? Do Scotland and UAE also play cricket? It was not his fault that he couldn’t recognise guys like Peter Van der Merve or Rohan Mustafa or Shaiman Anwar. Life of a cricket fan revolves around top countries or maximum to 12 test nations, and this two-part series brings you some unknown heroes of Associate Cricket.
3Shaiman Anwar (United Arab Emirates):
The 39-year-old batsman from Sialkot city of Pakistan can be termed as the backbone of United Arab Emirates (UAE) ‘s team. His brilliant hundred against Ireland in 2015 World Cup not only showed his class but also showed the world that UAE were there to compete. His 35 against India and 62 against Pakistan showed he didn’t need weak bowling attacks to succeed.
An employee of the shipping company based in Emirates, Anwar became the first batsman from UAE to score 1000 runs in International Cricket in the historic win against Zimbabwe in World Cup Qualifiers. At the age of 39, he might not stay long, but he has set standards for future generations to follow.
