UAE Under 19 squad members facing return to real life

Youngsters weighing demands of education versus hopes of a cricket career

UAE Under 19 national team bowler Pankaj Samant, pictured during an Asia Cup U19 match against India at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on December 28, 2013, says he plans to pursue a full-time cricket career in India. Kevin J Larkin / The NationalShow less

With handshakes all-round and a few hugs, they dispersed after their final match in the ICC Under 19 World Cup against Zimbabwe at the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council’s Nursery Oval pitch last month.

The UAE’s first appearance in the biennial event for the age group was an exhilarating experience for the youngsters, and now each of them are set for different paths.

The Emirates Cricket Board had spoken of contracts or scholarships for some of the talented youngsters, but they remain only words. So it is left for those youngsters and their parents to decide their future.

Shivank Vijaykumar, 18, a Grade 13 pupil of the Cambridge High School in Abu Dhabi, has already decided to pursue a full-time cricket career and wants to take the momentum of the experience to the next level.

He left for India earlier this week on a two-week trip to learn about the prospects of playing full-time cricket in his native Kerala.

“To play in the U19 World Cup was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me,” said Vijaykumar, who topped the scoring charts with 118 in six games and was joint-second with England’s Joe Clarke for the highest dismissals (10) by a wicketkeeper in the tournament.

“My thoughts after playing against the best young talents from around the world is that some of us are not too far behind those from the Test playing nations,” he added.

“It is now a matter of raising the bar and continuing to work hard to achieve one’s objectives. I feel I can get to that level and that’s why I am trying to look for as many opportunities as possible to pursue a full-time cricket career back in India.”

Vijaykumar had to set his eduction aside for six months at a critical period in order to train with the UAE team.

“I want to focus on my IGCSE Advanced Level Examinations for the next three months, and I may re-sit if I don’t achieve the desired marks,” he said.

“My parents have been very supportive with my cricket, but they still expect me to do well in academics, which I will, and hopefully earn a degree, something to fall back on.”

Balancing cricket with their education seems to be the emphasis of all the players and their parents.

Pankaj Samant, 19, the leading wicket-taker (10) for the UAE, is also leaving for India at the end of the month in pursuit of opportunities to play for teams in Karnataka or Goa.

“I am returning to India to continue my cricket,” he said. “I know it won’t be easy to get in to any team out there, but I want to give it a try. I will look at the opportunities for a university entrance,” Samant said. “That’s one option. The other is return to the Emirates for higher studies and continue with my education.”

Dan D’Souza, a top-order batsman, has decided to spend one year in a university in Dubai in a bid to win a place in the senior national team, particularly with the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on the horizon.

“I want to stay focused on being positive,” he said. “If that doesn’t work out for me, I will re-evaluate the options, perhaps try Australia to continue my higher studies.

“I have already wasted one year of my university because of cricket. But having said that, cricket still gives me a lot of joy and I will continue to play wherever I decide to go.”

D’Souza, 19, won the man of the tournament in the Asian Cricket Council Elite Cup in Malaysia in May last year and was selected for the senior national team in the ACC Emerging Teams Cup in Singapore in August.

Moaaz Qazi, 18, another Grade 13 pupil from the Cambridge High School, has been picked for the senior national team for the ICC World Twenty20 Cup in Bangladesh this month.

He has already decided to skip his IGCSE Advanced Level examinations in May and June and re-sit them in October and November.

“I have to re-think my cricket and education once I return from the tour to Bangladesh,” he said.

Omer Mohammed, 19, returns to university in Dubai, where he will continue the second year of his electronics and telecommunications degree.

“The plan is to complete the second semester, and then I have the option to continue the next two years in either Dubai or back in India,” he said.

Mohammed took four for 24 from 10 overs against Scotland in the UAE’s only win in the World Cup, in the Plate competition.

“I will look at the opportunities at continuing my cricket in the UAE or back in my native Hyderabad, where I have already played in three-day matches in the A division last year,” he said.

Shiv Mehra, 17, is the son of Vijay Mehra, who played for the UAE in the 1996 World Cup. He is headed for his native New Delhi to play at college level in India.

“It was a great experience for me to play in a World Cup, and now I have got a fair idea of the benchmark to make it to the international level, which is not too far away,” said the 12th grade pupil from Dubai Scholars Private School.

Rohit Singh, 20, the captain, who is also in the UAE's World T20 squad, and Chirag Suri, 19, are in universities in Dubai and have made it clear that they will play their cricket in the UAE.

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