Osman Samiuddin and Paul Radley give you their five players to watch in the inaugural Pakistan Super League, which begins in Dubai on Thursday, February 4.
Osman Samiuddin’s five players to watch out for
Mohammed Amir (Karachi Kings)
Amir’s form has been nothing short of sensational since his return to top-flight cricket. Though he was in the Gold category, he was always going to be one of the most-eagerly awaited picks. Karachi, the most expensive franchise, had a day of underwhelming picks, but grabbing Amir has more than made up for it.
Shahid Afridi (Peshawar Zalmis)
The very first pick of first PSL draft was actually the result of a trade between Islamabad and Peshawar. The fact that Islamabad chose to trade confirms the decline in Afridi’s skills, but as an “Icon” figure to build a franchise around there are few better choices. And as a Pathan, it was almost necessary that Peshawar get him.
Kevin Pietersen (Quetta Gladiators)
The prospect of Pietersen being re-united with former England coach and eventual nemesis Andy Flower was delicious. Alas it was not to be as he went to Quetta in the day’s fourth pick. Keep an eye on the number of selfies he is a part of with teammate and renowned selfie-taker, Ahmed Shahzad.
Mohammed Irfan (Islamabad United)
Of all Pakistan’s current fast bowlers, Irfan remains strangely under-valued. It is strange because he is so adept at the shorter forms of the game. It is especially handy because the franchise has, as director of cricket, the greatest left-arm fast bowler of all time, Wasim Akram. Impossible to imagine that Irfan, and Islamabad, do not benefit as a result.
Darren Sammy (Peshawar Zalmi)
Sammy is probably the least flamboyant and colourful of the big-name West Indian Twenty20 players. But he was the captain who led them to the World Twenty20 title in 2012. His all-round skills do not lose out much in comparison, for example, to the likes of Dwayne Bravo.
Read more:
Islamabad United’s promising Rumman Raees ready to springboard PSL T20 into Pakistan place
Pakistan Super League: The National’s preview coverage and reporting
Teams and squads for Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2016
Paul Radley’s five players to watch
Imad Wasim (Karachi Kings)
A relatively late-bloomer by Pakistan cricket standards, having only just begun to establish himself in the national limited-overs side nearly a decade after being the outstanding player of a vintage Under 19 team. The Wales-born, left-handed allrounder is miserly with the ball, and simultaneously creative and powerful with the bat. He could be a match-winner with both for Karachi Kings.
Shane Watson (Islamabad United)
Worldly, well credentialled, and there is the prospect of the Australian opener reprising his epic battle with Wahab Riaz from last year’s 50-over World Cup. “It will be good fun to reunite with Wahab,” Watson said. “That brings back incredible memories from the World Cup of Wahab bowling very fast, very consistently. He is a very skilled fast bowler.”
Luke Wright (Quetta Gladiators)
Out of the reckoning for national selection by England, despite being a highly successful Twenty20 globetrotter. Regularly starred in front of 80,000 people in Melbourne in the Big Bash League last month. Wright’s cause might not be championed quite so publicly as his Quetta teammate, Kevin Pietersen, but he can play a bit, too.
Zafar Gohar (Lahore Qalanders)
Wise beyond his years when it comes to knowing how to play in UAE conditions. The feisty left-arm spinner has already tasted a variety of successes on these shores, despite having only just turned 21. He guided Pakistan to the final of the 2015 Under 19 World Cup in Dubai, played domestic cricket in Sharjah, and made his ODI debut against England at the same ground in November.
Shaun Tait (Peshawar Zalmi)
A third-choice selection, after Chris Jordan, and his first replacement Liam Plunkett, were called up to play for England instead. That said, an on-form Shaun Tait is more frightening than either of those two. And Australia seem to think he has still got it, having recalled him to their limited-overs side last month, for the first time since 2011.
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
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Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Schedule:
Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
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Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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