When Theertha Satish and her UAE national teammates met up with their FairBreak Invitational colleagues this month, she said it was like reuniting with family.
The 18-year-old wicketkeeper batter is one of four UAE representatives at the T20 tournament in Hong Kong.
She is turning out for the Falcons, who she debuted for when the inaugural FairBreak competition was staged in Dubai last year because of Covid-19 related travel restrictions in Hong Kong.
Despite that being only a relatively fleeting experience, she says the players forged a strong bond.
“Everyone stayed in touch throughout the year,” said Theertha, who captained UAE at the Under 19 World Cup earlier this year.
“We have all congratulated each other and wished each other best of luck for different tournaments. It has felt like you are reuniting with your family.
“Having been in the same team together last year, we definitely feel much closer this time around.
“It is not exactly the same as the UAE team, because we all see each other every day in the UAE. But it is definitely a family feeling.”
Theertha certainly found favour with her old friends as soon as they were reacquainted in Hong Kong.
In the opening game of the competition, she was named player of the match after a rapid half century earned them victory over the Tornadoes.
She was only overtaken as the leading runscorer in her side after Sri Lankan great Chamari Athapaththu’s match-winning 75 not out against Sapphires on Tuesday, four matches into their campaign.
“I wasn’t expecting that at all,” Theertha said of her opening day half-century. “I was just grateful for the opportunity that I got.
“Last year I played five matches but wasn’t able to do much. Just seeing how much trust the captain and coach had in me, it made me want to do something. I’m glad I was able to do that straight away.
“The whole point of this tournament is for the Associate nation players to contribute to the game and show how good they can be.
“It is amazing to see not just us from the UAE but all Associates help win matches. That is a very big improvement from last year’s FairBreak competition.”
With Mahika Gaur, Esha Oza and Kavisha Kumari also having their moments of success, Theertha says the UAE contingent is spurring each other on.
“Off the cricket field, we are all still teammates,” Theertha said.
“We all still play for UAE. And not only us. It doesn’t matter if you are a from a Test nation or an Associate nation, we are all people at the end of the day.
“You want everyone to do well – you just hope it is not against your team.”
