The DP World International League T20 might reserve admission for only a few UAE-based players. But every so often, it can still turn out to be a dream factory for local lads.
When Farhan Khan first found out he was selected for the UAE’s T20 franchise tournament, he was so shocked he fell out of bed.
The uncapped 20-year-old seam bowler was idling about on the top bunk of his room when he received the message that has changed the arc of his cricket career.
“I was not having such a good T10 season personally and had gone back home to Pakistan for a brief while to work on myself, my diet and my fitness,” said Farhan, who is originally from Peshawar.
“I played a bit in Pakistan too but without much success and I really thought I would not be able to make it to the ILT20 this time. In fact, when I first got to know that I was selected for Dubai Capitals, I couldn’t believe it.
“It was around noon when I got the message from the team manager, and I literally fell off my bed on the upper bunk. I share a room with three others and one of my mates was sleeping below at the time.
“I woke him up from his sleep to tell him what just happened. He was the first person who I told about my selection. I was ecstatic. It was a pure goosebumps moment for me.”
After his roommates, he quickly set about notifying his nearest and dearest back at home. “I had actually prepared my family for the worst – that I may not be picked for the ILT20 because I knew everything depended on performances,” he said.
“But when I told them about my selection, it was a different kind of happiness for me. The like I had never seen or felt before. My mum was elated to hear the news and said she felt proud of me.”
Playing against some of the stars of the global game, in immaculately appointed stadiums, in front of live TV audiences is a world away from what Farhan is used to.
The lanky fast bowler started out playing in the street as a kid where “I got hooked on to the sport”.
“Initially there was not much support back home like in the case of most Pathan families, but when I started playing well, they took notice,” he said.
“When others told my dad about my cricketing prowess, he heard them and let me play tape-ball cricket. Eventually, I joined an academy and moved up the ranks.”
One of his cousins was playing for Seven Districts, a leading UAE club team based in Ajman, and smoothed the path for Farhan to join him.
He quickly started turning heads in domestic cricket, and caught the attention of Ahmed Raza, the former national team captain who now holds coaching positions in both the UAE and Dubai Capitals setups.
“I kept an eye on him during the D-series, which is our premier tournament,” Raza said of Farhan. “He impressed me and everyone who had a look at him. He is young, tall, has a clean action and swings the ball. He also bowls in different phases on T20 games.”
Raza discussed the new find with the rest of the Capitals’ management and, after they had the chance to watch him live in the ILT20’s development tournament, they made it a priority to select him for the main event.
“We were clear about wanting to pick him because he is special in terms of what he has to offer in a T20 game,” Raza said.
“Everyone saw that in the first game. He bowled up front, then came back and bowled the last over against arguably the best finisher in the world, Kieron Pollard. He delivered, and I think he is going to go from strength to strength.
“From a UAE perspective I think it will be about how we can preserve him until he qualifies for UAE. Hopefully he can do great things for the franchise and for the country in the future.”
If Farhan ever daydreamed about playing big-time cricket, it might have gone down in similar fashion to the first game of this season’s ILT20, between the Capitals and defending champs MI Emirates.
It was Farhan’s first match of any note in professional T20 cricket, and the rookie was given the responsibility of bowling the last over of the match.
He needed to defend 13 to win the game. A nervy task, no matter who is at the other end. It just so happened that the player Farhan was going up against was the batter who has played more T20 games than anyone else in history.
Kieron Pollard is closing in on 700 matches in the format. He has played for over 20 major teams, in leagues all across the world. The contrast between the two players could not have been any greater.
“I was under pressure playing my first game at an international level,” Farhan said.
“And then I was not used to playing in front of such a big crowd. My first two overs were not at all good and I thought I wouldn’t get another over, let alone the final over.
“But just when I was about to change my fielding position before the final over, I got a shock as I got called to bowl. Up against me was a man who’s hit over 900 sixes and is one of the best finishers in the T20 game. I was in a state of disbelief.”
Sikandar Raza, the Capitals captain, had used up the allocation of his more experienced bowlers, and was left with his untested debutant to bowl the decisive six balls.
“They were only five or six down, so I wanted to trust my senior guys first,” Sikandar said. “We only needed a couple of dots, and I knew that if we held our lines and lengths, we had a chance.”
The equation became six required off the last ball. Pollard swiped a length delivery from Farhan to the long-on boundary – and it bounced just inside the rope.
“I just can’t believe that I defended 13 runs against Pollard,” Farhan said. “Even when I was about to bowl the last ball with six runs [remaining for MIE to win] I knew anything could happen. I still can’t believe it.”
With victory secured, Farhan was swamped by euphoric teammates. “When I came to bowl the last over, Sikandar bhai told me to keep believing. He said, ‘You can do it.’ He really boosted my confidence well,” Farhan said.
“The reaction [after the win] was strange. For a moment, I thought it was a six because the ball had gone for a boundary after just one bounce.
“When I looked up, I saw Sikandar bhai rushing towards me. He came and hugged me and then everybody else came around and hugged me. It was like a dream.”
