Maratha Arabians have made a statement of intent over reclaiming the Abu Dhabi T10 title by signing Nicholas Pooran for the new campaign.
The Trinidadian left-hander has been the most consistently destructive batsman over the four-season history of the 10-over competition.
Earlier this year at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, he powered Northern Warriors to their second title in the event. Over the course of the campaign, he was the second highest run-getter, and had the highest strike-rate.
Now he has switched allegiance to Maratha Arabians, who are rebuilding their side after failing to make the knockout stage last season, when they were defending the title they won in 2019.
Pooran will be joined at his new team by Robin Singh, the UAE coach, who has overseen both of Northern Warriors’ title wins in the T10.
The new season of the T10 is scheduled to start on November 19, and culminate on National Day weekend, on December 4.
That means it will follow two months of high stakes cricket in the Emirates. The suspended Indian Premier League will resume in Dubai on September 19.
The IPL will be followed by the T20 World Cup, across the UAE and Oman, from October 17 to November 14.
Pooran is likely to feature in both, for Punjab Kings and West Indies respectively, and Maratha Arabians are delighted to have secured his services for the T10, too.
“This year we have been planning something different, and we are targeting the trophy, which is why we have gone for the best,” Anurag Maheshwari, the franchise’s owner, said.
“Pooran is the best player there has been in T10. He is a one-man show. Robin was also very keen that we took Pooran, which is why we went for him.”
Pooran is the second big name to confirm for the T10 in consecutive days. On Saturday, it was announced former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis will make his debut in the competition. He has been recruited to lead Bangla Tigers.
The draft is likely to take place early next month, and Maheshwari is hopefully of building a competitive side to support Pooran.
“Last year it was late when we bought the team, and the time period until the start of the competition was short,” Maheshwari said.
“It wasn’t possible to win the trophy last year, but this year we are in a good space.”
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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%3Cp%3EFounder%3A%20Hani%20Abu%20Ghazaleh%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20with%20an%20office%20in%20Montreal%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%202018%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Virtual%20Reality%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%241.2%20million%2C%20and%20nearing%20close%20of%20%245%20million%20new%20funding%20round%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
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Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
