Image Source : GETTY IMAGES Ahmed Raza
UAE skipper Ahmed Raza on Wednesday mentioned he gained quite a bit by coaching alongside the likes of Virat Kohli through the IPL and hoped the expertise would come useful when his crew takes on Ireland within the upcoming ODI collection in Abu Dhabi.
Raza together with wrist spinner Karthik Meiyappan skilled with the Royal Challengers Bangalore through the IPL held within the UAE in September final 12 months, whereas seamer Zahoor Khan hung out with the Mumbai Indians crew.
“The IPL was massive. The experience you get over there training with the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and bowling to them is great. We felt like we’d gained a lot when we left the IPL,” he informed reporters throughout a digital press convention forward of collection starting on January 8.
“It’s hard to put into words, but you start feeling different, and you’re different in your approach as well. I hope that whatever we learned in that period, we can showcase in our performances in this series.”
Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie hoped to see his nation’s gamers bag IPL contracts however mentioned they must carry out constantly to play within the profitable league.
“IPL is the best T20 league in the world with the best players in the world. In IPL, you get to talk to the best players, best coaches in the world. And the exposure a player gets is massive,” he mentioned.
No Irish cricketer has managed to earn an IPL contract to date.
“… to get that opportunity we need to put in performances for Ireland like we did in England and get to the top of the table more often, performances like that on a regular basis so that teams can see what we can offer to them,” he mentioned.
The Ireland captain underscored the importance of each ODI sport and mentioned it was vital to hit the bottom working within the upcoming collection in opposition to UAE.
“All ODIs are important for us, all series are important. We don’t take any game for granted. There are seven games coming up (four vs UAE and three against Afghanistan). We have got to hit ground running, we are aware that we haven’t played for some time. UAE are a very dangerous team,” he mentioned.
Balbirnie mentioned all gamers have been out there for choice they usually have been following all of the COVID-19 protocols together with assessments.
“Yeah, everyone is available.. the tests are going on. We are going through all the protocols. We just mainly trained since we came here, managed to keep ourselves busy…a lot of cricket coming up in the next 2-3 weeks,” he mentioned.
Ireland’s star participant Kevin O’Brien, on his half, recalled the improbable win within the remaining match of the three-match ODI collection in opposition to England in August.
“Everyone within the squad performed very nicely in that win (in opposition to England in Southampton). Paul (Stirling) and Andy (Balbirnie) batted very nicely to arrange the run chase earlier than we (me and Harry Tector) completed it … full crew effort.
“Great opportunity for us to play against two very good sides-UAE and Afghanistan. Looking to get back into the thick of things in international cricket,” he added.
UAE skipper Raza mentioned his crew has mixture of youth and expertise. “You want to win every game you play, and this series is no different. We want to win all the games and win the series. We’re playing in our own backyard and looking at the squad, there’s a good mix of youth and experience,” he mentioned.
“We have to keep an eye on the 2023 World Cup down the line. Looking at the four or five youngsters in the squad, they all played in the Under-19 World Cup and put in performances.”
The four-match ODI collection might be telecast stay in India on Eurosport and Eurosport HD channels.
