Full name: Mohammad Babar Azam
Date of birth: October 15, 1994
Place of birth: Lahore, Pakistan
Role: Top order batsman
Teams represented: Pakistan Under-19s, Sylhet Royals, Pakistan A, Pakistan, Islamabad United, Rangpur Riders, Karachi Kings, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Sylhet Sixers, Somerset, Dublin Chiefs
Test debut: Against West Indies, Dubai, October 13, 2016
ODI debut: Against Zimbabwe, Lahore, May 31, 2015
T20 debut: Against England, Manchester, September 7, 2016
Milestones: 2017 Champions Trophy winner, fastest to 1,000 runs in T20 Internationals, top-ranked T20 batsman in 2019
Height: 5'11"
Family: Cousin of Pakistan internationals Kamran, Umar and Adnan Akmal
The finest young batsman in contemporary cricket and one of the best batsmen produced by Pakistan. If you have to describe Babar Azam in one word, it would be flawless. There is no apparent weakness against any type of bowling, format or conditions, which is a rare quality among modern batsmen.
Azam was earmarked as a special talent from his Under-19 days. The right hand batsman represented his country at the 2010 and 2012 U19 World Cups, the second time as captain, finishing among the top three run-scorers on both occasions.
His international bow came within three years and he did not waste any time in making his mark. He scored a fifty on his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in 2015, a fifty in his second T20 against the West Indies in September 2016, and a fifty on his Test debut against the Windies the next month.
During the initial few years, Azam excelled in white-ball cricket where his attacking style came to the fore. He broke a number of records during his blazing start in limited overs cricket, including becoming the quickest to 1,000 runs in T20s, joint-second fastest to 2,000 and third fastest to 3,000 runs in ODIs. The 2017 Champions Trophy final win over India, where he hit 46, became one of the early highlights of his career.
However, he took some time to replicate his white-ball form in the Test arena. He had a particularly poor 2017, having eight single digit scores, including five ducks, in 12 Test innings.
But his quality was always going to shine through. By the end of 2018, he started to turn things around in the Test arena. Playing against Australia and New Zealand in the UAE, he scored three fifties and a century in six innings. 2019 was the year in which his truly raised the bar, scoring a century and a 97 in Australia before cracking two tons and a fifty in three innings in Pakistan against Sri Lanka.
Azam is now considered a member of the batting elite in modern cricket, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Joe Root. If he maintains his performances in red-ball cricket, Babar will without doubt be the next great batting superstar; he is definitely on his way to becoming one.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 435hp at 5,900rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,800-5,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Price: from Dh498,542
On sale: now
Persuasion
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The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
