Mazhar Khan, the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) administrator, has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Mazhar represented the country at the ICC conference in Hong Kong last week where he was given the Development Programme Annual Award for Lifetime Service.
Sharad Pawar, the ICC president, lauded his work in a letter. "Your outstanding contribution to the growth of cricket as a global sport has been recognised and commended," Pawar wrote. "You can be rightly proud of your contribution."
Mazhar, who has spent 36 years in the country and has devoted a lot of that time to cricket in the UAE, dedicated the award to all his ECB colleagues.
"I am grateful to the ICC for recognising my efforts," he said.
"But this award is for all my cricket peers here, my colleagues who have supported me throughout. Without their support, I don't think I would have achieved this."
Mazhar welcomed the ICC decision to revert to a 14-team World Cup and said the reduction from 16 to 12 teams in the World Twenty20 was something that would be reconsidered for future competitions.
He said: "We were very keen that the ICC reviews the World Cup numbers and they have gone back to the 14-team format as last time.
"I think that's the biggest boost to Associate members. I believe it is the right path for the development of the game."
Talking about the World Twenty20 decision, he said: "It's unfortunate that the numbers have been reduced from 16 to 12 for the World Twenty20, but then again the ICC also have a point in their plans for a gradual growth.
"Hopefully in the future, the numbers will grow. The game is growing rapidly and if not now, I am sure we will have opportunities post 2014 or 2016."
arizvi@thenational.ae
