Reuniting with workmates after three months apart is likely to feel surreal for most people.
The UAE’s cricketers might have felt the separation anxiety even more acutely, given the amount of time they spend touring, rooming, playing and training together.
Then there is the case of Ahmed Raza and Rohan Mustafa, who went to school together even before spending the best part of the past decade in the national team alongside each other.
You might think only so much could have changed in the time since the coronavirus lockdown started.
According to Raza, though, he barely recognised his long-time colleague when they returned to nets at the ICC Academy for the first time on Sunday.
“Being three months into this, we have trained our brains so that, when we see anyone we know we can’t shake hands, or hug, or do anything like that,” Raza, the UAE captain, said.
“When I walked in at 12.50pm, I just shouted, ‘Hello, boys, salam alaikum,’ and walked past everyone.
“Everyone kept a good distance throughout the training session, but it was good to see everyone.
“It was good to see Ronny [Mustafa]. He is looking like a 19-year old now. He has lost 10kgs, thanks to home training and a good diet.
“We haven’t seen each other for three months, and you can’t tell on Zoom calls.”
Although they only saw each in passing – the players have split training sessions in small groups, as per return-to-play safety guidelines – Raza’s impression of his mate was correct.
Mustafa confirmed he has lost 10kgs during lockdown, as per a fitness challenge set down by his close friend Sikandar Raza, the Zimbabwe all-rounder.
Given he was among the fittest UAE players before the break anyway, the rest of the returning players will feel like they have some catching up to do.
“I was working really hard,” said Mustafa, who also had laser-eye surgery during the time away from playing.
“For the first week when corona started, I wasn’t doing anything. I spoke to my friends Umar Shah and Sikandar Raza, and we decided we needed to look after ourselves.
“Sikky told me he was on a diet. I said, ‘Please, don’t challenge me. If you do, I will do anything to beat you.’
“After that, I started a diet, and it was very strict. Every sweet thing, I love it – but I stopped everything. I didn’t touch anything. Even tea, I don’t take a single sugar in it now.
“I would do a normal training session in the afternoon, then in the night I would do a Zoom call with Umar and Sikandar and train.
“After the call I would do a little extra, too. My wife asked what I was doing, and I told her I want a six-pack.”
He says he has not stopped there, either.
“It is a journey,” Mustafa said. “I am still in it. I want to be fit like the Indian batsmen, and I will try my level best to be like that.”
Raza, who worked in a four-man group alongside Imran Haider, Chirag Suri and Mohammed Ayaz, said the first steps to returning have taken some getting used to.
“I hadn’t bowled in three months, and I don’t think that has happened before,” Raza said.
“I can’t remember where the first ball ended up, but it was not on the stumps. And my fingers felt weird.
“After about an hour I did a video saying, ‘First ball in three months, top of off stump,’ and I did that. But really that was an hour into training.
“It felt different, but this is the new normal. It is the first step to getting back to normality.
“We are working within the guidelines of the ICC and the sports councils.
"It was strange bowling with a mask on but for the past three months we have been crying to get back, so we are not complaining.”
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
Key 2013/14 UAE Motorsport dates
October 4: Round One of Rotax Max Challenge, Al Ain (karting)
October 1: 1 Round One of the inaugural UAE Desert Championship (rally)
November 1-3: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Formula One)
November 28-30: Dubai International Rally
January 9-11: 24Hrs of Dubai (Touring Cars / Endurance)
March 21: Round 11 of Rotax Max Challenge, Muscat, Oman (karting)
April 4-10: Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (Endurance)
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
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
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
UAE%20FIXTURES
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If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
A%20MAN%20FROM%20MOTIHARI
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdullah%20Khan%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPenguin%20Random%20House%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E304%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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