Ahead of the flight to Dhaka last Sunday, Rohit Singh had his pads, gloves and boots packed – and his revision books. Maybe his autograph book, too, just on the off-chance the national team achieve the improbable and reach the second round of the World Twenty20 this month.
As the second-youngest member of the squad, after his age-group teammate Moaaz Qazi, Singh is enjoying his first outing with the UAE senior team.
It is not a bad first trip, a jaunt to play on one of the sport’s highest-profile stages, and the young Dubai-born Indian national is grateful for the chance.
“I feel I am lucky to be in the team,” said the 20-year-old batsman and live-wire fielder. “I want to do well for this country. I was born here, I played my academy cricket here. I haven’t played outside UAE, so I feel like I need to do something good. Aaqib Javed being here as coach has really helped our youngsters. He gave me and Moaaz a chance and it is a really big thing.”
The captain of the national Under 19 side is doubly lucky in that his cricketing exploits for the UAE have meant he has had permission to miss lectures.
He is a first-year student of mechanical engineering at Heriot Watt University in Dubai.
“I missed one month for the Under 19 World Cup and now I am going to Bangladesh,” said Singh, who also missed his December exams because of the tri-series involving the UAE, England and Pakistan. “But the university have been supportive, so it helps. They have told me I can do the exams later.”
[ pradley@thenational.ae ]
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