Mohammed Shafiq, right, moved to the UAE from Pakistan five years ago. The 44-year-old wicketkeeper is 'still fit', says UAE coach Aaqib Javed. Pawan Singh / The National
Mohammed Shafiq, right, moved to the UAE from Pakistan five years ago. The 44-year-old wicketkeeper is 'still fit', says UAE coach Aaqib Javed. Pawan Singh / The National

Mohammed Shafiq proves you are never too old to make a debut



SHARJAH // Twenty-four years after making his first-class debut in his native Pakistan, Mohammed Shafiq will get a belated crack at international cricket after being selected for the UAE.

The wicketkeeper, 44, has been handed the gloves for this week’s Intercontinental Cup match against Namibia at Sharjah that starts today.

He is also expected to play a role in the crucial World Cup qualifying matches against the same opposition on Friday and Sunday.

Shafiq ended his professional cricket career in Pakistan five years ago and moved to Abu Dhabi, where he works as a site foreman for Ghantoot group.

If life had worked out a little differently, his international bow might have happened in the green of Pakistan, rather than the grey of the UAE.

The Punjab-born gloveman enjoyed a productive first-class career in his homeland, having made his debut in 1989.

However, he found his route to national honours for Pakistan consistently blocked by fellow wicketkeepers Moin Khan and Rashid Latif.

“It is my dream to play international cricket, for any national team,” the Abu Dhabi Gymkhana wicketkeeper said.

“I’m a wicketkeeper-batsman, and my time in Pakistan coincided with Moin Khan and Rashid. They had long careers and there was no chance for me.” Aaqib Javed, whose paths crossed regularly with Shafiq in domestic game, thinks his new charge was unlucky not to have represented Pakistan.

The UAE coach has called on his former counterpart as he regards him as a cricketer who has “guts”.

“He is a hard cricketer, with 150 games in Pakistan for experience,” Aaqib said. “He is a tough cricketer with plenty of experience and pride in his performance.

“He is still fit enough and he wants to be there and prove a point.

“He is a gritty cricketer.”

Shafiq captained Younis Khan, among other Pakistan Test players, in club cricket in his homeland before he moved to the UAE capital.

Despite the debutant’s age, Aaqib expects Shafiq to lead by example in a vital week of cricket for the national team.

Once the four-day Intercontinental Cup match is concluded, the side will switch their attention to two 50-over matches, which could go a long way to defining the future of UAE cricket.

If they secure two wins, the UAE would likely leapfrog the Netherlands into second place in the World Cricket League Championship.

If Afghanistan then lose either of their matches against Kenya in the same competition next month, the national team could take the second World Cup qualifying berth behind Ireland.

“He will never give up and he is very confident,” Aaqib said of Shafiq.

“I have never seen him wearing a helmet, even against the world’s fastest, most dangerous bowlers, like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar.

“He has got guts. I’ve always wanted him to come close to the team, as he can add lots of value to the team.”

*

*

What Intercontinental Cup

When Today-Wednesday

Where Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Who UAE v Namibia

Timings 10am start, admission is free

UAE squad

Khurram Khan (captain, above), Saqib Ali, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Azam, Nasir Aziz, Mehrooz Khan, Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Naveed, Swapnil Patil, Ahmed Raza, Saqib Shah, Mohammed Shafiq, Kamran Shahzad, Shadeep Silva

Namibia squad

Raymond van Schoor (captain), Stephan Baard, Christopher Coombe, Michau du Preez, Zane Green, Jean Pierre Kotze, Xander Pitchers, Bernard Scholtz, Nicolaas Scholtz, JJ Smit, Christiaan Snyman, Louis van der Westhuizen, Christy Viljoen, Helao Ya France

pradley@thenational.ae

Stats at a glance:

Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)

Number in service: 6

Complement 191 (space for up to 285)

Top speed: over 32 knots

Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles

Length 152.4 m

Displacement: 8,700 tonnes

Beam:   21.2 m

Draught: 7.4 m

Jawan
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAtlee%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Nayanthara%2C%20Vijay%20Sethupathi%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ARSENAL IN 1977

Feb 05 Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland

Feb 12 Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal

Feb 15 Middlesbrough 3-0 Arsenal

Feb 19 Arsenal 2-3 West Ham

Feb 26 Middlesbrough 4-1 Arsenal (FA Cup)

Mar 01 Everton 2-1 Arsenal

Mar 05  Arsenal 1-4 ipswich

March 08 Arsenal 1-2 West Brom

Mar 12 QPR 2-1 Arsenal

Mar 23 Stoke 1-1 Arsenal

Apr 02  Arsenal 3-0 Leicester

Company%20Profile
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Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Power: 268bhp / 536bhp
Torque: 343Nm / 686Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
On sale: Later this year
Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
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RESULTS - ELITE MEN

1. Henri Schoeman (RSA) 57:03
2. Mario Mola (ESP) 57:09
3. Vincent Luis (FRA) 57:25
4. Leo Bergere (FRA)57:34
5. Jacob Birtwhistle (AUS) 57:40    
6. Joao Silva (POR) 57:45   
7. Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) 57:56
8. Adrien Briffod (SUI) 57:57           
9. Gustav Iden (NOR) 57:58            
10. Richard Murray (RSA) 57:59       

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode

Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: 4/5

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Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
BORDERLANDS

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis

Director: Eli Roth

Rating: 0/5

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Roll%20of%20Honour%2C%20men%E2%80%99s%20domestic%20rugby%20season
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COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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Uefa Nations League: How it works

The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.

The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.

Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.

U19 World Cup in South Africa

Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka

Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies

Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe

Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE

UAE fixtures

Saturday, January 18, v Canada

Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan

Saturday, January 25, v South Africa

UAE squad

Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon

TOUCH RULES

Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.

Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.

Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.

A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.

After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.

At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.

A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.


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