Sri Lanka out to avoid Pakistan tour whitewash in two-match T20 series

COLOMBO // Sri Lanka will look to prevent a clean sweep by Pakistan on their tour when they clash in two Twenty20 internationals in Colombo Thursday and Saturday.

Pakistan won the preceding Test series 2-1 and also clinched the one-day series 3-2 to earn a double triumph in the island nation for the first time since 2006.

But Sri Lanka, the reigning World Twenty20 champions and the top-ranked side in the shortest format, have a chance to salvage pride in the two end-of-tour games at the Premadasa stadium.

Both sides have a fresh look under new captains, with sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga leading Sri Lanka and veteran Shahid Afridi taking the helm for fifth-ranked Pakistan.

While Malinga has retired from Test cricket and played in four of the five one-dayers, Afridi has quit the other two formats and will make his first appearance on the tour.

With the next World Twenty20 in India just eight months away, both sides have blooded new players to give them experience in the nuances of T20 cricket.

Sri Lanka’s 15-man squad includes five uncapped players in batsmen Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka and Dhananjaya de Silva, fast bowler Binura Fernando and leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay.

Test and one-day regulars Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne have been omitted, but seasoned seamer Nuwan Kulasekara has been recalled after being left out of the one-day series.

“We need to get the younger brigade in the stream so that we have a gradual transition leading up to the next World T20 and the 50-over World Cup beyond that,” Sri Lanka chief selector Kapila Wijegunawardene was quoted as saying in local media. “We need to put them on the ground and see how they perform.”

Afridi and leg-spinner Yasir Shah are two among five players set to contest the T20 series who did not feature for Pakistan in either the Test or one-day matches.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @NatSportUAE

Company Profile

Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)

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.”

WHY AAYAN IS 'PERFECT EXAMPLE'

David White might be new to the country, but he has clearly already built up an affinity with the place.

After the UAE shocked Pakistan in the semi-final of the Under 19 Asia Cup last month, White was hugged on the field by Aayan Khan, the team’s captain.

White suggests that was more a sign of Aayan’s amiability than anything else. But he believes the young all-rounder, who was part of the winning Gulf Giants team last year, is just the sort of player the country should be seeking to produce via the ILT20.

“He is a delightful young man,” White said. “He played in the competition last year at 17, and look at his development from there till now, and where he is representing the UAE.

“He was influential in the U19 team which beat Pakistan. He is the perfect example of what we are all trying to achieve here.

“It is about the development of players who are going to represent the UAE and go on to help make UAE a force in world cricket.”

Sri Lanka out to avoid Pakistan tour whitewash in two-match T20 series

Sri Lanka will look to prevent a clean sweep by Pakistan on their tour when they clash in two Twenty20 internationals in Colombo today and Saturday.

Company Profile

COMPANY PROFILE

WHY AAYAN IS 'PERFECT EXAMPLE'