Cricket must get more recognition in Qatar, feels Ibrahim

 

Cricket must get more recognition in Qatar, feels Ibrahim

 

DOHA

Zaheeruddeen Ibrahim, who feels immensely proud of being among a few home-grown players for Qatar, will be seeking to pay back to the national team through his best possible contribution during the upcoming Asian Sub-regional Group A Qualifiers for the next year’s ICC T20 Cricket World Cup.

 

The Asian Town Stadium in Industrial Area will stage the first international cricket event for the new season from October 23. Besides hosts Qatar, other four team involved in the event are Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the Maldives.

 

The 33-year-old batsman said after the nets at the Ideal Indian School ground: “In most of the national teams in the Gulf, players are generally coming from outside, settling there and then inducted in the squad after the naturalization period.

 

“My story is different. I am among a handful players in the Qatar team who grew up here, played for every national age-group team and are now donning the country colors. I started my journey in 2001 and it is over two decades that I’m still holding on to my place in the country squad.

 

“It is true that we going to play the international cricket after one and a half years. But we have a good core of talented and fighting players. The tournament has such a format that only the winner goes ahead. This will surely bring a lot of pressure on the teams.

 

“Each team has some game-changers. So we do. We all know our roles and responsibilities. Also we will need some luck. We are confident that if we can play best to our capabilities, we can take the team across the finish line,” Ibrahim said.

 

Started playing the sport at a tender age in Doha, he forced his way into the national under-13 team through his attractive batting. He represented Qatar in all the age-group teams later on but the Gulf Cup in Doha proved a watershed for him.

 

“Qatar organised the Gulf Cup Tournament for the under-17 teams. We played well. We beat Kuwait in the final and I emerged as the best batsman of the tournament. It was really the turning point for me and I decided to stick to the sport.

 

“The national selectors recognized me as a strong performer and backed me. Various coaches, including late Malik Nazar, guided us. They always said that I have potential but I need to work hard. Also I tried to go over the bar and help team put a display as good as it could,” Ibrahim said.

 

The middle-order batsman recalled that the trip of Thailand turned out to be a ground-breaking tour for the senior team.”I still remember about that tour to Thailand. It was the first international visit for me as a member of the senior team. We played an excellent cricket and won there.

 

“It was very crucial for particularly as I had the maximum runs in the tournament.    Later on, this performance helped me cement my place in the team.”

 

Ibrahim also shared some bittersweet memories about Qatar’s only T10 franchise tournament. He played for Kamran Akmal-led Swift Gallopers and the team managed to book a place in the final vs eventual champions Falcon Hunters.

 

“That T10 experience was also quite enriching. We played with and against some famed faces. The matches were also very thrilling. We did everything right till the last ball in the final. Iqbal (Hussain Choudhry) smashed it for a six and won the title for his team,” he reminisced.

 

Ibrahim feels cricket must get more respect in Qatar. “A very few people know that we had our best-ever ranking of 21st in the world. Football dominates the sports news here. We have really put in a great deal of hard work and lifted the team from 90s to 21st.

 

“Our families also made huge sacrifices for us. The Qatar Cricket Association also invested heavily in the development of the sport. We are indeed happy and proud to contribute to the progress of the national cricket team. So I always felt that we must get more media attention and recognition.”