All teams are training at the ICC Academy in Dubai ahead of the Asia Cup starting Saturday but ask anyone and the focus is on Sunday’s India-Pakistan match.
“Do you have a ticket for the India-Pakistan match?” is the most common refrain among the fans after all the tickets for Sunday — India-Pakistan’s first match since theirT20 World Cup game last October — were sold out in a flash.
Even Sri Lanka’s Bhanuka Rajapaksa was asked about the match. Rajapaksa politely replied that the team’s focus was not on others. Sri Lanka kick off the tournament against Afghanistan on Saturday.
Mind your language
Journalists have a tendency to ask their “home teams” questions in their own language. The Lanka news conference was no different, as a scribe asked Rajapaksa a question in Sinhalese. The organizers tried to get the mic to the journalist quickly even as another quipped: “Since most of us will not understand a word of what he is asking, the organisers should just take it easy.”
Englishman Chris Silverwood, the Sri Lanka head coach, was as clueless as the others in the room.
Right at home
The UAE is no stranger to Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi, who just a few months ago was playing for Bukhatir XI in the CBFS T20League powered by Fan Code in Sharjah. Khalid Shah, the Bukathir XI captain, commended Nabi’s shrewd brain. “Once, I asked him about a field change and suggested removing the mid-on fielder. He told me not to do it for a few overs and rightly so... the batsman was caught out there. Nabi is someone who teaches you in every possible way. One can sense he puts his 100 percent in everything he does as a cricketer,” said Shah.