T20 World Cup 2022: Class of 2014 a reminder how much UAE cricket has changed

Vikrant Shetty and Rohit Singh reflect on the UAE's last appearance at the tournament, before the national team turned professional

UAE SQUAD AT 2014 T20 WORLD CUP: Coach: Aaqib Javed. Ended a transformative four-year spell as UAE coach to return to oversee Lahore Qalandars in the start-up Pakistan Super League in 2016. Won the PSL title for the first time this year – even if he was in Covid-quarantine during the final. Sarah Dea / The National

Captain: Khurram Khan. Regarded by many as the best player ever to represent the UAE, the all-rounder ended 23 years of employment with Emirates airline at the start of this year. Now works as a coach at Sharjah Cricket Academy. Satish Kumar / The National

Ahmed Raza. Went to Bangladesh having been around the senior national team for the best part of a decade – despite being aged just 25. The only survivor of the squad still part of the setup in Australia. Pawan Singh / The National

Amjad Ali. Flamboyant opening batter enjoyed a number of highs with the national team. Chiefly, when he hit 77 against Sri Lanka in his home city of Lahore in the 2008 Asia Cup, and 45 against Ireland at the Gabba at the 2015 World Cup. Lee Hoagland / The National

Amjad Javed. Still works for Emirates airline, as he did during his playing career, as a cargo loadmaster. A fast-bowling all-rounder who later had a successful stint as captain of the side. Pawan Singh / The National

Faizan Asif. Smacked the second ball he faced in the tournament for six, then was out to the fourth. Recalled to the UAE squad for the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifier, but did not play. Pawan Singh / The National

Manjula Guruge. Originally from Sri Lanka, he was probably the finest left-arm swing bowler to have represented the UAE to date. Now plays cricket in the UK. Antonie Robertson / The National

Kamran Shahzad. A fast bowler who went to two World Cups with the UAE, despite suffering knee trouble. He has since returned to Pakistan and coaches in a cricket academy. Pawan Singh / The National

Moaaz Qazi. A surprise call-up to the squad for the tournament in Sylhet, he did not get a game – and did not play thereafter, either, as he left for further studies in Canada. Satish Kumar / The National

Swapnil Patil. Played at T20 and 50-over World Cups for the UAE, while keeping up a day job as a receptionist. He last played for UAE in 2016, and now runs his own cricket academy in Mumbai. Antonie Robertson / The National

Rohan Mustafa. Had appeared set to become the first UAE cricketer to play in three World Cups, only to be a shock omission for the trip to Australia. Still arguably the country’s leading allrounder. Satish Kumar / The National

Rohit Singh. Went to two World Cups a matter of weeks apart, as he was the captain of UAE’s U19 side at the 2014 event on home soil. Now a data analyst for online delivery company Talabat. Getty Images

Shaiman Anwar. The first UAE player ever to make a T20 international ton, but his career ended in disgrace. He is one of seven UAE players currently serving long suspensions for corruption. Pawan Singh / The National

Sharif Asadullah. The Ajman resident enjoyed a brief stint with the national team as a seam bowler. Later earned a contract to play a season of the T10 League. Still plays domestic cricket. Getty Images

Vikrant Shetty. The middle-order batter is also in Melbourne representing UAE in a cricket World Cup. No longer part of the senior national team, he is instead a mainstay of the side representing the country at the Indoor Cricket World Cup. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

Shadeep Silva. The left-arm spinner was a key figure in the side for some years, but did not play a game in Bangladesh. He lost his job with Emirates airline during Covid, and returned to his native Sri Lanka. Lee Hoagland / The National

Eight-and-a-half years feels like a lifetime in UAE cricket. But it is no longer than anywhere else.

When the national team make their second appearance at a T20 World Cup this month, their squad will have one survivor – Ahmed Raza – from that which debuted at the tournament in Bangladesh in 2014.

That is the same amount as West Indies have remaining from their 2014 vintage, and one more than Pakistan, whose squad is now entirely different.

And yet that competition in Sylhet seems like a different age altogether. The landscape of UAE cricket has changed entirely in the time since.

Their squad to take on the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Namibia this month is almost exclusively professional, save for a few university students, and – in the form of Aayan Afzal Khan – a schoolboy.

Back in 2014, the squad included a cargo loadmaster, a flight catering worker, a receptionist, cabin crew, students, and banking staff.

They were not short on talent, but their lack of big-match experience counted against them. They lost all three of their matches against Netherlands, Ireland and Zimbabwe, and failed to progress beyond the first round. Despite that, the competition carries with it fond memories for the pioneering players from the UAE.

“It was a huge thing because after a very long time, a huge gap [18 years since the 1996 50-over version], we had managed to qualify for a World Cup,” said Vikrant Shetty, a former middle-order batter for the UAE.

“Playing at a World Cup is obviously the pinnacle of everything for us. With that comes a whole load of pressure, press interviews, cameras, so for us it was a huge, huge thing.

“It didn’t go completely in our favour, but the experience was amazing. For all us to be on that stage, in front of the TV cameras, we all were super excited.”

Coincidentally Shetty will be in Geelong for the T20 World Cup of 2022. He is in Australia representing the country in cricket, too, although not at the more visible event.

Shetty, who heads the content and social team for a media agency, is taking time off from work to play at the Indoor Cricket World Cup.

That finishes in Melbourne the day before the UAE’s opening T20 game. He hopes to stay on to support his erstwhile teammates in Geelong, and he knows what they will be going through.

“I remember in the press conferences, a lot of people were surprised we had full-time jobs and we were playing at the World Cup,” Shetty said. “They were asking questions about the fact we had taken leave, and managed to sideline our corporate lives in order to play for the UAE team in a World Cup.

“Bangladesh was an amazing experience, and one vivid memory is the security we had, police outriders taking us in and out of the ground.”

The Class of 2014 did include two players – Rohit Singh and Moaaz Qazi – who had recently represented the UAE in its maiden Under 19 World Cup campaign. Neither featured in the main event, as UAE kept faith instead with its tried and tested senior players.

The difference to now is stark. Vriitya Aravind, a 20-year-old student, is vice-captain of the side, and the likes of Karthik Meiyappan, 22, and Aayan Afzal Khan, 16, could also have key roles to play.

“Even in our team, I think we had great talent, but it comes down to the system and the structure,” said Rohit, who captained UAE at the 2014 U19 World Cup before graduating immediately to the senior squad.

“I am very happy for the youngsters who are coming into the team now. They are performing so well. It is what happens when you trust the youngsters and give them the freedom to express themselves. They are doing well.”

Rohit did not play in the competition proper in Sylhet, but did sample the big-match experience when he played in a warm-up game against the host country.

“The crowds were amazing because we got a lot of respect and support from them,” Rohit said. “Even when we played Bangladesh in a warm up match, they were really respectful and supporting if we fielded well, hit a good shot, or took a good catch.

“In UAE, we don’t get a lot of support. The stadiums are not filled, not like they are in Bangladesh. Even in the U19 World Cup, the stadiums were never full. There were always very few people in one stand, in a corner.

“In Bangladesh, it was always full and we got some support – even though we were playing against their team. I was nervous at first, but after a few overs you just settle down and try to take on board what is happening. As time moves on, you start absorbing it and concentrate on the important things.”

Rohit drifted from cricket after the World T20. He completed a master’s in data science, then got a job at Talabat, leaving little time for cricket.

Even the subsequent advent of central contracts was not enough to keep him in the game, but he is pleased to see how the game has moved on in the time since.

“One and a half years went by, I was enjoying my job, and I didn’t see a lot of things happening for me in cricket so I took a break,” Rohit, 28, said. “I would say I am still on a break. I just play a little indoor cricket here and there, but nothing in the professional way we used to do.

“Whatever happens happens for good. When I was there they had just started central contracts, but it was not as stable as it is now. The framework will keep getting better slowly.”