Tag Archives: Ali Shan Sharafu

Alishan Sharafu feeling ‘blessed’ ahead of UAE’s U19 World Cup campaign

Kerala / UAE :

Captain has high expectations for his side before opener against Canada in St Kitts

UAE captain Alishan Sharafu in action against Pakistan during the Under 19 Asian Cup at the ICC Academy, Dubai, in December. Chris Whiteoak/ The National

The Covid-enforced dearth of international cricket in 2021 was keenly felt by all of UAE’s leading players, but none more so than CP Rizwan.

The Kerala-born batsman must have thought he had finally cracked international cricket when he scored an uplifting century in a one-day international against Ireland a year ago.

Alishan Sharafu says the UAE are capable of achieving “great things” at the U19 World Cup in the Caribbean.

The national team start their campaign on Saturday against Canada in St Kitts. They then face pool matches against England and holders Bangladesh next week.

The competition marks just the third time the UAE have appeared on the global scale at U19 level. They had free admission as hosts in 2014, before qualifying on the field to play in South Africa two years ago.

A return to the event was sealed in absentia this time. The qualifying process was derailed by Covid, and the UAE qualified on the basis of their record in recent years.

Sharafu, the side’s captain, is one of three players who also represented the country in South Africa in 2020.

The middle-order batsman is grateful to be returning for another crack at the event, and the chance to avenge the disappointment of last time.

The UAE missed out on the business phase of the competition back then after a storm ruined their shot at chasing a win against hosts South Africa.

“It really hurt when a chance of a lifetime of going through to a Super Eight of the U19 World Cup was taken away but fortunately we’ve been blessed with another opportunity and been given another shot at it,” Sharafu said.

“I feel we have a very, very talented group of boys and a more balanced with our bowling being our strength, especially our spin attack.

“A few of us were at the last World Cup and it’s great to pass on that experience to the newer boys and make them want to do well at this one because not many are blessed with this opportunity.”

Although the age-group players regularly train with their senior compatriots, Sharafu is the only player in the U19 squad to have sampled full international cricket so far.

The Kerala-born teen has played six T20 internationals and one one-day international for the national team to date. He is hoping to bring some of that experience to bear when the U19 event gets under way.

“Being around the men’s setup for a while just adds a confidence booster because the challenges here were already simulated or experienced there,” Sharafu said. “That obviously helps to figure and work out solutions to problems at the U19 level.

“What I want to pass on to my players is to just enjoy the opportunity and challenges, and be positive and believe that we together can achieve great things.”

UAE v Pakistan, U19 Asia Cup in December

video

As well as the benefit of experience of Sharafu, Kai Smith and Ali Naseer, each of whom played last time, the players will also be able to lean on the wisdom of Mudassar Nazar. The 65-year-old coach played nearly 200 times for Pakistan, including touring West Indies.

“Most of them are already relishing the chance to rub shoulders against the best in the world,” Mudassar said of his young charges. “So far the confidence is high. Having Alishan and Kai amongst us is a real bonus. Their experience is of immense value.”

The UAE’s two warm up matches on tour included a hefty win over Papua New Guinea , plus a narrow loss to England. Mudassar believes the UAE have a well-balanced side who are capable of improving on their pool-stage exit two years ago.

“I was not around then but I am fairly confident that this bunch of players will be very competitive,” Mudassar said. “I guess our top order batting is settled but we have plenty of allrounders, which provide us with depth.

“Spin bowling is a real asset with at least five who bowl spin. Pitches in West Indies are helpful to spinners. We should be able to defend any reasonable total.”

source: http://www.thenationalnews.com / The National / Home> Sport> Cricket / by Paul Radley / January 14th, 2022

UAE youngster breaks Chris Lynn’s T10 record

Kerala / Dubai, UAE :

Ali Shan Sharafu smashes first century in the format in the country.

Dubai

Ali Shan Sharafu has a penchant for records, it seems and he seems to be making it a habit.

The 17-year-old, one of the UAE’s rising stars, smashed a century to set a new record in T10 cricket in the UAE.

Sharafu, who has represented the UAE at the Under-19 level and also the senior National team, conjured a ruthless 146 from just 42 deliveries, during which he hit 14 sixes and 11 boundaries.

The knock came about in the Ajman T10 Talent Hunt League at the Eden Garden Ajman while representing Pacific Goltay against Spartan.

And Sharafu, who played in the Under-19 World Cup held in South Africa this year, became the first centurion in the format in the UAE. He eclipsed big-hitting Australian Chris Lynn’s mark of 91 from just 30 balls, scoring for the Maratha Arabians against Team Abu Dhabi in the Abu Dhabi T10 League last season.

Sharafu broke his own record in the Under-19 UAE Academy League last month. The Cricket School Of Excellence pupil had cracked 155 against Maxtalent Cricket Academy to put the 151 he had scored against Young Talents Cricket Academy in 2018, to shade.

“It feels really, really nice to have another record,” Sharafu told the Khaleej Times on Friday.

“I actually never imagined that someone could get to a 100 in T10 because the highest in the format was 91 by Chris Lynn. So, I thought that would be the maximum a batsman could get to,” he added.

Sharafu said that his approach to T10 was similar to other formats but added that the batsman had to be in attacking mode from the first ball.

“It was a challenge at the start. It is such a short format and you have to get going from ball one. I always try to be an aggressive batsman so there is nothing changing in the approach but it is just that you have less time to react in a T10 game than other formats,” felt Sharafu.

The Ajman T10 Talent Hunt League, held under the auspices of the Ajman Cricket Council, will see the top performers being referred to the Players Management Council of the Abu Dhabi T10 League. The League is scheduled to be held from January 28, 2021 to February 6.

And Sharafu is hoping for an opportunity to rub shoulders with international stars to aid his cricketing journey.

“It will be really exciting to get an opportunity and you will get to learn from them, just sharing a dressing room with such big names. This is the stepping stone and this is where I wanted to be at,” said Sharafu.

james@khaleejtimes.com

source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com / Khaleej Times / Home> Sports> Cricket / by James Jose / December 04th, 2020