Ali Naseer focused on UAE cricket career despite Pakistan prospects

Young all-rounder has excelled since being promoted to senior national team

Ali Naseer of the UAE celebrates after taking the wicket of Jack Jarvis of Scotland during their Cricket World Cup qualifier in Bulawayo. Photo: ICC

One of the young prospects with whom UAE cricket hope to build a bright future says he is committed to the national team, despite being touted as a potential Pakistan star.

Ali Naseer was born in Karachi but has lived in Dubai since he was four. He learnt to play cricket in the UAE and represented the country at two Under-19 World Cups.

Since graduating to the senior team this month, he has been outstanding. He averages 31 from No 7 in the batting order, with a strike rate of 106.

It is a small sample size, having played just six games so far – but three of those were against the West Indies and one other was against Sri Lanka.

He has also taken six wickets in that space of time, and his start to international cricket has led to Muhammad Waseem, the captain, suggesting he is “the future for UAE”.

Mudassar Nazar, the interim coach of the side, reckons Naseer “could be carrying this team on his own” in the near future.

Nazar is himself on secondment to the team from his role overseeing age-group cricket in the UAE. He first saw Naseer as a young recruit at the ICC Academy, before taking up a role heading up Pakistan’s National Academy.

After returning to UAE, he says Naseer had developed into a player of rich promise.

Ali Naseer bats for the Desert Vipers against Gulf Giants at the International League T20 in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

“He was part of the ICC Academy when I was a coach, but was very, very young at that point,” said Nazar, who oversaw the emergence of the likes of Nasim Shah and Shaheen Afridi while at Pakistan’s Academy.

“Then I had five years back in Pakistan. When I came back, just the first look convinced me this guy has talent.

“If he was part of the Pakistan Academy, he would have played for Pakistan. There is no doubt in my mind.

“But he lives in Dubai, and he is getting the exposure now. He is really showing his class and in a year’s time he could be carrying this team on his own.”

Naseer clearly has a strong affinity with the country of his birth. His bow-and-arrow wicket celebration is modelled on that of Ihsanullah, the Pakistan fast bowler.

He also excelled while playing as an overseas player in the Pakistan Junior League last year, impressing coach Abdul Razzaq in the process.

“People have told me to go back to Pakistan and play for the districts, but most of my family are in the UAE and I am pretty well settled there,” Naseer said.

“I am focused on playing for the UAE and hopefully some franchise leagues around the world as well.”

His father Aamer lives in Karachi. He says he has been asked a number of times, “You must be really proud – don’t you wish he will play for Pakistan some day?”

Aamer said he is proud he is playing for UAE, though, even if he does offer some “irritating dad” advice to his son after his matches.

“That was surreal,” Aamer said of watching Ali’s debut series against West Indies.

“I had to pinch myself. The kid making his debut against West Indies, then scoring back-to-back 50s. It was like he had been playing international cricket all his life.

“He was playing fearless cricket. He was hitting the West Indies bowlers for a six and a four, then trying to hit them out of the park again.

“I told him he should have tried to hit a single, but it is easy for me, watching from outside. The guy at the crease knows better what to do. He says, ‘Dad, you’ve got to go on the merit of the ball'.”

In the women’s game, the UAE appear set to lose another young prodigy to a Test-playing nation.

Mahika Gaur, who was born in UK and is now at boarding school there but is a resident of Dubai, played for England A against Australia last week.

Naseer is also a student in the UK, at Leeds Beckett University. His coach, though, expects him to remain a UAE player.

“Once UAE has brought him up, he should play for UAE and do well for UAE,” Nazar said.

“They have spent enough energy, time and money on him, and he wants to play for UAE.

“I am just talking about his talent. It could have been an Indian player and I would have said the same thing, that he could play for India.”

The national team face Ireland in their final Cricket World Cup Qualifier fixture in Bulawayo on Tuesday.

Although they cannot qualify for the World Cup, having lost three matches so far, Naseer believes the future is still bright.

“Mudassar sir spoke to us and said the aim for UAE is to get us youngsters into the set up and try and prepare for the next World Cup Qualifier so we can do well in that,” Naseer said.

“If we have a team with an average age of 22 to 23 I think we can do really well. We will have more energy than the other players and with that comes experience.

“The one thing we are lacking at the moment is experience. Once we’ve played more and more cricket together, I think we will do really well in the future.”