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UAE's Aryan Lakra relishes chance to learn 
from ‘greats’ in Abu Dhabi T10

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Aryan Lakra, who captained UAE at the 2020 Under 19 World Cup, will play for Bangla Tigers in the Abu Dhabi T10. (ICC World Cup Twitter)

Aryan Lakra, who captained UAE at the 2020 Under 19 World Cup, will play for Bangla Tigers in the Abu Dhabi T10. (ICC World Cup Twitter)

Dubai - When the Bangla Tigers picked Lakra in Wednesday’s Player Draft for the star-studded Abu Dhabi T10, Lakra was brimming with excitement

Published: Thu 24 Dec 2020, 10:00 PM

Having climbed up the ladder with ease, Aryan Lakra is now ready to take the next big step in his cricketing journey. The captain of the UAE under 19 team that played at the 2020 U19 World Cup in South Africa, Lakra is now on the verge of making his debut in one of most high-profile franchise cricket tournaments.

When the Bangla Tigers picked Lakra in Wednesday’s Player Draft for the star-studded Abu Dhabi T10 (January 28-February 6), the Sonepat-born player was brimming with excitement.

With all eight T10 franchises requiring to pick at least one UAE player in the playing eleven, the 19-year-old Lakra has now got the perfect opportunity to test his skills against players like Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez, the 40-year-old Pakistani who just ended 2020 as the highest scorer in T20 Internationals.

“T10 is a wonderful opportunity for me because there are some world-class players playing in this tournament. Surely, it will be a great learning opportunity for me,” Lakra told Khaleej Times on Thursday.

The young all-rounder who bowls left-arm spin, is relishing the chance to learn from Afghanistan’s star spinner, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

“The best thing is Mujeeb is in my team. Everyone knows how good a finger spinner he is. I can learn so much from him,” said Lakra who also loves to play the big shots as a left-handed batsman.

“Also, there are a lot of quality batters in our team, I can learn how they play, how they prepare for the game, there are so many things I can learn from these big players. It’s a truly wonderful opportunity.”

Having earned a contract from Emirates Cricket, Lakra is also hoping to make his senior debut when Ireland arrive next month for the first international series in these shores after the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I am hoping to be picked (in the senior UAE team). It will be great to make my international debut before going for the T10 event,” said Lakra whose bowling skills earned him 20 wickets in the D20 (Domestic T20) tournament.

“I had a good D20 tournament with 20 wickets from 12 games. So obviously, my confidence level is high,” said Lakra who represented the Emirates Cricket Board team in the D20.

“We had mostly young players in our team and we came up against teams that had senior UAE players. It was an exciting tournament for the bunch of young players in our team.”

And the senior players in the UAE set up and head coach Robin Singh have created the ideal atmosphere for youngsters like Lakra.

“I think the training under him (Robin Singh) has been great and he has created an excellent environment for us to train in. Even as youngsters in the camp, we don’t feel like youngsters. The seniors in the camp, players like Chirag (Suri), skipper Ahmed (Raza) and Rohan (Mustafa), they make us feel like we are here for a long time,” he said.

“Under Robin, it has been really nice. He has helped all the players, mentally and skill-wise. I hope that we could learn more from him in the next few months.”

What Lakra has already learned from his experience of playing in events like the Under 19 World Cup is that cricket is basically a mind game.

And that there is no big gulf between associate countries and Test-playing nations when it comes to talent.

“I think the associate level age-group cricket is quite similar to what we play here. But when we played against the Test-playing nations (in the under 19 World Cup), I think the difference is mainly in the mindset,” said Lakra who took 12 wickets from six matches at an impressive average of 20.33 in the Under 19 World Cup.

“They (teams from the Test-playing countries) know how to be in the game for longer periods. When they are down and the other team is on top, they know how to get back in the game and this happens when you play a lot of games at a good level, so you are mentally strong.

“I think that’s the main difference. The cricketers from associate countries lack the mental ability to switch on and switch off. But skill-wise, I don’t think there is much difference. I have played against Test-playing nations and there have been times when we were on top against sides like India and Bangladesh, proper Test-playing countries. But it’s just that they know how to get back on top and stay there for longer period of time.”



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