After guiding the UAE team for a number of years as their captain before transitioning to coaching, Ahmed Raza will add another feather to his cap after being entrusted with coaching DP World International League T20 champions Dubai Capitals in the Global Super League invitational tournament in Guyana, which starts on Thursday.
The former UAE spinner was part of the technical staff of the Capitals side that clinched their maiden ILT20 title after defeating Desert Vipers in a last-over thriller in the final in February.
It marked a significant milestone in the cricket journey of Raza, 36, who had retired from the game to take up a coaching role at the Emirates Cricket Board in 2023.
Having cut his cricket career short at the age of 34, Raza has taken up coaching full-time. He is the head coach of the UAE women’s national team and has also been part of the technical staff of both Dubai Capitals and Team Abu Dhabi in the Abu Dhabi T10 over the past two seasons.
Now, Raza is relishing the chance to guide the franchise in an overseas competition.
“The experience of being part of the technical staff with both Dubai Capitals and Team Abu Dhabi has been invaluable,” Raza told The National over a video call from Guyana on Wednesday.
“And now heading the team to the GSL is definitely a bigger role and obviously a great feeling.
“My gratitude towards the GMR Group for trusting my ability and giving me this opportunity to lead in a newer franchise tournament.”
The former left-arm spinner, who played 51 ODIs, 54 T20Is and 20 first-class games for the UAE in a career spanning 17 years, is relishing his new role.
“It’s a franchise [Capitals] with a rich history in cricket. To represent as a head coach in a global tournament is unheard of for someone who is a full product of the UAE,” he says with a broad smile.
“I mean, you've probably never had a UAE-born coach going global. I'm not only representing the Capitals, I'm representing our own home brand, which is ILT20 and the Emirates Cricket Board. I'm a product of the UAE cricket board. I've not played cricket anywhere else.
“This is my home. So, to be able to represent the country and represent us on the global stage, I am full of gratitude for the opportunity.
“One thing is trusting your ability, the second is to deliver. So hopefully, we can deliver. May this partnership continue.”
Raza has used his knowledge of the local cricket scene to promote talent. He had a say in bringing in wicketkeeper-batter Rahul Chopra and left-arm spinner Haider Ali into the franchise.
Chopra is now the UAE ODI captain and Haider made a dream debut in the UAE’s 2-1 win in the bilateral T20 series against Bangladesh at Sharjah in May.
“Scouting local talents was my primary role for the Capitals. I have worked with them both, Rahul and Haider, closely and it’s very pleasing to see them going on to international cricket and doing well for the country,” Raza said.
“I'm the bridge between the coaches and the players. So there's a lot of communication which goes back and forth.”
The Capitals take on New Zealand’s Super Smash champions Central Stags in the tournament opener at the Providence Stadium on Thursday.
The tournament pits five franchise league winners against one another, including Australia’s Big Bash champions Hobart Hurricanes, Caribbean Premier League winners Guyana Amazon Warriors and Bangladesh Premier League’s Rangpur Riders.
“The talent which is on show in the GSL is absolutely brilliant and everyone is eager to get the tournament started,” Raza said.
“The quality of teams here and the players on show … you get the winners of different franchises coming together and playing in a tournament. It’s a great platform for the players.
“In my team, everyone is eager to get going. The players have arrived from different parts of the world. We took a day and a half to give everyone a bit of rest, did some strength and conditioning work to get their bodies ready. We had a couple of good sessions and now just waiting for the first game.
“We are going to play the opening game. So we are going to set the tone of the tournament. Hopefully, we get two points on the board to start with.”
The Capitals suffered a minor setback as three of their UAE players, Alishan Sharafu, Haider Ali and Muhammad Jawadullah, had to be replaced. They were called up for national duty for the Pearl of Africa quadrangular series against Namibia A, Kenya and hosts Uganda from next week.
“National duty comes first,” Raza added. “We already have Khalid Shah here and are waiting for the rest of the replacements to be sanctioned by the GSL, which we should know before the start of the tournament.”
Joining the Capitals are Bangladesh legend Shakib Al Hasan and Afghanistan all-rounder Gulbadin Naib.
“Shakib has played around the world and he brings in lots of experience. Gulbadin has been one of our leading players in ILT20 and also brings in a lot of experience. We've got a few new faces as well,” added Raza.
“The teams here are all champions of their respective leagues. It's going to be a hard-fought tournament. It's not a format that you can take a game or two to get up and running. So every game matters.”
Dubai Capitals fixtures in GSL
July 10: v Central Stags
July 11: v Hobart Hurricanes
July 13: v Guyana Amazon Warriors
July 16: v Rangpur Riders
July 19: Final (if they qualify)
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
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Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school
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Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
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