Sultan Ahmed receives his ODI cap from UAE head coach Dougie Brown before the series opener against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on April 10, 2019. Courtesy Zimbabwe Cricket
Ahmed bowls during the T20 World Cup qualifier warm up game between the UAE and Scotland at International Cricket Stadium, Dubai in October, 2019. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Sultan Ahmed during match against Scotland. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Sultan Ahmed after the T20 match against Papua New Guinea in 2017. Pawan Singh / The National
Sultan Ahmed during the T20 match against Papua New Guinea. Pawan Singh / The National
Sultan Ahmed of Qalandars during a training session held at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Pawan Singh / The National
Sultan Ahmed of Qalandars bowls during the Abu Dhabi T10 Cricket match between Karnataka Tuskers and Qalandars at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi in November, 2019. Pawan Singh / The National
Sultan Ahmed takes the wicket of Tigers' Riley Rousseau during the 3/4 place playoff game between the Bangla Tigers and the Qalandars in the Abu Dhabi T10 league at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi in November, 2017. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Qalanders' Sultan Ahmed takes the wicket of Tigers' Riley Rousseau in the Abu Dhabi T10 league at Zayed Cricket Stadium in 2017. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Sultan Ahmed after the T20 match between Papua New Guinea and UAE in April, 2017. Pawan Singh / The National
That match in Muscat is the best part of three months ago now, and it might turn out to have been a futile exercise, anyway.
It feels highly unlikely given the current situation that the next leg of qualifying – a four-team tournament scheduled for August in Malaysia – will go ahead, or even the main event in September.
Rather than basking in the glow of that success last time out, Sultan and his colleagues have grown as frustrated by everyone else by the absence of cricket from their lives.
Sultan himself has an individual landmark in his sights. The left-arm spinner has an economy rate of 5.91 in the 22 Twenty20 internationals he has played so far.
That would have put him in second place in the all-time list of thriftiest bowlers in the format, behind just Daniel Vettori, and ahead of Imad Wasim, Sunil Narine, and everyone else who has played the game.
To be considered for that list, he needs to have bowled a minimum of 500 deliveries.
He has sent down 432 so far, which is another reason for him being impatient about returning to the bowling crease.
“I'm working very hard to give my best performances, and it would be a proud moment for me to become a No 1 bowler in any format of cricket,” Sultan said. “I hope all cricket lovers will pray for my success.”
While that tournament-winning effort in Muscat in February might have been in a low-key competition, Sultan has proved a good fit for bigger stages, too.
He was a reliable performer in the Abu Dhabi T10 at the end of 2019 for Qalandars.
He hopes his performances with the ball in that competition might persuade the Lahore-based franchise to consider him for their Pakistan Super League side in the future, too.
I'm working very hard to give my best performances, and it would be a proud moment for me to become a No 1 bowler in any format of cricket
“I'm grateful to Almighty Allah for this particular performance,” he said.
“Inshallah, you will soon watch me not only in PSL but also in other international leagues.”
The 30-year-old spinner left Pakistan to move to UAE in 2013, having initially harboured the dream of playing for the country of his birth in international cricket.
“Why not? Everyone wants to represent his country, but I feel proud to be a UAE national player,” he said.
“It is my second homeland. When I came to UAE, it was with the intention only to play cricket.
"I had played departmental cricket in Pakistan and after arriving in UAE, I was confident I could play for the national team.”
Since debuting in the T20 side in 2017, Sultan has been among the most consistent performers in a side that has faced its share of troubles.
He is a close friend of two players who were banned for corruption last year, Shaiman Anwar and Mohammed Naveed, the former captain who deems Sultan "like a brother to me".
“When you play in a team, it is necessary to play and live like a unit,” Sultan said.
“I always have good relationships with my teammates. I thank Allah that I have a good nature and a sense of humour.
“I don't know what happened to Naveed. We spent good times together.
“Every person, especially when you are a leading personality, you have to face many kinds of negative things.
“But I think it makes you more positive in how you do things. We should not worry at all. It’s part of life.”
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
This month, Dubai Medical College launched the Middle East’s first master's programme in addiction science.
Together with the Erada Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation, the college offers a two-year master’s course as well as a one-year diploma in the same subject.
The move was announced earlier this year and is part of a new drive to combat drug abuse and increase the region’s capacity for treating drug addiction.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The details
Heard It in a Past Life
Maggie Rogers
(Capital Records)
3/5
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
Although they still do, they discovered in 1955 that the Netherlands had a lot of natural gas. “We still had the idea that, by 2000, it would all be nuclear,” said Harm Jeeninga, director of business and programme development at the centre.
"In the 1990s, we found out about global warming so we focused on energy savings and tackling the greenhouse gas effect.”
The energy centre’s research focuses on biomass, energy efficiency, the environment, wind and solar, as well as energy engineering and socio-economic research.
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
How to turn your property into a holiday home
Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
Research equivalent Airbnb homes in your location to ensure competitiveness.
Post on all relevant platforms to reach the widest audience; whether you let personally or via an agency know your potential guest profile – aiming for the wrong demographic may leave your property empty.
Factor in costs when working out if holiday letting is beneficial. The annual DCTM fee runs from Dh370 for a one-bedroom flat to Dh1,200. Tourism tax is Dh10-15 per bedroom, per night.
Check your management company has a physical office, a valid DTCM licence and is licencing your property and paying tourism taxes. For transparency, regularly view your booking calendar.
Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders, Friday, 5.30pm
Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
MATCH INFO
What: Brazil v South Korea When: Tonight, 5.30pm Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Tickets:www.ticketmaster.ae
