Let’s not understate this: UAE’s qualification for the T20 World Cup is a cricket fairytale.
From the pit of despair, ravaged by corruption, a crisis that has now seen seven senior players thrown out of the sport for a combined total of 49 years. To this. The global stage. And a chance, finally, to show the good face of UAE cricket.
All in the space of two-and-a-half years. A span of time in which all the hard work done by a persevering group of players has frequently been undermined by the outcomes of anti-corruption hearings.
The last UAE player to be chucked out of cricket for corruption was as recently as December. Waheed Ahmed was suspended for eight years for contriving to fix aspects of domestic matches.
Ironically, he had been one of the players enlisted for the national team to cover for the first three who were thrown out, at the 2019 World Cup Qualifier, back when all the problems first started.
The national team’s resilience at rolling with the punches in the time since has been extraordinary. Now it is they, not the cheats, who will enjoy the fruits of a trip to Australia to mix with the sport’s best.
Who is to thank for all this? Ahmed Raza, the dutiful captain, was quick to praise the backroom staff for their part in it.
When Robin Singh was appointed as director of cricket in 2020, the first thing he said was he wanted his teams playing in World Cups.
The Under 19 side already have. With distinction, too, beating two Test nations to win the plate tournament in the Caribbean earlier this month.
The women’s team are into a global qualifier of their own. And now the senior men’s side are through to the T20 version at the first time of asking on his watch.
The second thing he said after arriving was that he does not just want his sides competing when they get there. He wants big scalps.
It was telling that, while his players were basking in the warm glow of achievement after beating Nepal on Tuesday, he was already thinking about which will be suited to conditions in Australia and which will not. The subtext was clear: there will be places on the plane available to the most deserving.
But more than anyone else, the people who have brought about the transformation have been the players. Those left over after the crisis. Those for whom wearing the grey of the national team might – for a while – have felt somewhat less than the privilege it is supposed to.
People like Chirag Suri, a player who received so much so young – a place in the senior team before he was ready, a trip to the IPL before it was merited – but who has grown up in times of trouble. Now 27, he is a pillar of the side and captain in waiting.
Like Vriitya Aravind, who was excused lessons at school to bolster the squad at the 2019 Qualifier. Who missed a psychology exam to make his UAE debut. Who was struck a fearful blow on the head in one of his first games – then proceeded to launch the next ball out of the ground for six.
And who is, it turns out, a little bit extraordinary at cricket. The leading run-scorer at the Qualifier so far, a shoo-in for player of the tournament, and, maybe one day, he will actually return to his university lectures, too.
Then there is Rohan Mustafa, the arch competitor for whom life has rarely run smooth. Whose five minutes of online fame was actually a moment of infamy, when he was lampooned for a wardrobe malfunction in front of the TV cameras at the Abu Dhabi T10.
Nobody gives more to the national team than he does. He does it all to honour his late father. How proud Mustafa Kamal would have been that his son could be set to become the first UAE cricketer to play at three World Cups.
And then there is Raza. The captain who provided the safest pair of hands when the game was falling apart back in 2019.
The 33-year-old spinner from Sharjah must be up there now with the most important people in the history of UAE cricket.
Up there with Abdulrahman Bukhatir, the Sharjah businessman without whom the sport might not have made it to the Emirates at all – certainly not in the form it is today.
And Khalid Al Zarooni, the president of Dubai Sports City who has been a driving force behind making Dubai a world centre for cricket.
Up there, too, with Sultan Zarawani, the captain, inspiration and patron of the first UAE side to make it to a World Cup, back in 1996.
Plus Khurram Khan, Raza’s role model and surely still the best player ever to wear UAE colours, who captained the side to qualification for World Cups in T20 in 2014 and one-dayers a year later.
And now, Raza. The guy who, still scarcely believably, was banned for two months for essentially showing that he cared, when he criticised the facilities at a tournament in Pakistan in 2018.
Someone who lives and breathes UAE cricket more than anyone else. A national representative as man and boy. A player who started national duty as a pudgy teenager, and is now a good 10kgs lighter, if a few grey hairs heavier.
And a captain who has a World Cup to plan for.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Final results:
Open men
Australia 94 (4) beat New Zealand 48 (0)
Plate men
England 85 (3) beat India 81 (1)
Open women
Australia 121 (4) beat South Africa 52 (0)
Under 22 men
Australia 68 (2) beat New Zealand 66 (2)
Under 22 women
Australia 92 (3) beat New Zealand 54 (1)
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
First-round leaderbaord
-5 C Conners (Can)
-3 B Koepka (US), K Bradley (US), V Hovland (Nor), A Wise (US), S Horsfield (Eng), C Davis (Aus);
-2 C Morikawa (US), M Laird (Sco), C Tringale (US)
Selected others: -1 P Casey (Eng), R Fowler (US), T Hatton (Eng)
Level B DeChambeau (US), J Rose (Eng)
1 L Westwood (Eng), J Spieth (US)
3 R McIlroy (NI)
4 D Johnson (US)
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
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.”
