All Silent and Eagle Falls Ready for Dubai World Cup Night

DUBAI - Reacting to the allegations made by UAE Nationals Cricket Club Adviser and Vice-Chairman Abdulrazzak Kazim, Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) CEO Dilawar Mani argued that the club was not doing the right thing by directly approaching the Asia Cricket Council (ACC) or ECB. “The club should approach the Dubai Cricket Council in the first instance to determine whether their application has merit to be forwarded to the ECB.

By Jai Prasad V Rai

Published: Wed 24 Mar 2010, 12:59 AM

Last updated: Mon 6 Nov 2023, 3:57 PM

“Directly writing to ECB or ACC is not correct since it is left to regional councils to manage clubs registered with them. Unfortunately, Mr. Kazim has chosen to by-pass this protocol and expects ECB to respond to him. ECB has no intention of usurping the authority of the regional council,” Mani added.

He said that since Kazim held no position in the regional council and expressed his disappointment that he was misguiding the youngsters. “It is sad to note how these youngsters are being misguided by an adult who holds no position in his regional council but continues to style himself as the Advisor, Manager and Coach of UAE Nationals. This entity is a club and would best assign itself to aspire, in the first place, to achieve a decent club level rating.”

“I question how is Mr. Kazim advising them by rejecting every opportunity offered by the ECB to formally develop their skills by attending dedicated training camps. How is he managing them by refusing to allow them to participate in events held under the ECB umbrella which would help them identify their strengths and weaknesses and how is he coaching these youngsters when he has no formal coaching skills and is behaving in a most irresponsible manner,” Mani said.

Mani stressed that the ECB has always commmitted in promoting locals and has offered to train the local youngsters. “The ECB has repeatedly offered to train and coach UAE nationals but has only received resistance from Mr. Kazim.

In fact he went as far as refusing to allow some these boys to represent the UAE in the U-16 tournament recently held in Nepal unless we provided him permission to participate in the Asian Games.

“Is this approach representative of mature thinking and leadership? How does he expect them to evolve from promising cricketers to those whose potential is fully realised.”

The ECB, Mani said, is ready to set up camps run by professional coaches and physios who are ready to nurture local talent. But he said that is possible only if they come forward offer their willingness to play.

“Unless the boys are formally trained and coached under the skills of an international coach(s) such as the UAE coach how are they expected to represent the UAE against international teams such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh etc in the Asian Games. Surely there is an extremely high risk of injury and player safety. Their current lack of skills could expose these boys to serious injuries and restrict their future development opportunities.

“There is no doubt that UAE nationals need to be encouraged to participate in the sport of cricket.

“If they do not posses the techniques and skills required then formal training camps can be set up and dedicated to assist in their development. This process requires proper coaching and fitness provided by professionals which the Emirates Cricket Board has offered.

“This is not an over-night phenomenon but a long term process of attending training camps, assessing skill levels and honing their techniques, determining fitness levels, reflexes and reactions and providing intensive training. This is no a job for self styled coaches but for professionals.” Mani added.