Five UAE players become citizens through naturalisation
Five players – Khuzaima Tanveer, Ajay Kumar, Akshdeep Nath, Harpreet Bhatia and Adeeb Usmani – have become the first cricketers to be granted UAE citizenship through naturalisation. Earlier football, rugby, and judo players received UAE citizenship, but this has happened for the first time for cricket in the UAE. In the UAE, cricket has been played largely by expatriates who qualify to represent the country by satisfying the ICC’s eligibility criteria of staying in the country for three years. Now these five players who are part of the 17-member squad currently in Nepal for white-ball series, can play for the UAE as their citizen possessing a passport.
“From the day I landed in the UAE, it was my dream to represent the country at the international level,” Ajay Kumar told The National. Khuzaima said, “The country is trusting you and giving you this chance, so I think you are the lucky one. I have played UAE domestic cricket for the past three years and have played the past two seasons of ILT20 and Abu Dhabi T10.” He added, “It has been a great experience to play with international players. Now I have this opportunity to play for UAE. I am very grateful to the Emirates Cricket Board for supporting me.”
You simply cannot breach a contract you have never received: Muzarabani’s agent
According to Blessing Muzarabani’s agent there was no official contract sent over to the player by the PSL franchise which led him sign a contract with the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders. In a statement posted to the X, the agent Rob Humphries said, “We’ve remained quiet publicly over the last six weeks because we did not wish to create or cause anymore animosity for the Pakistan Super League/Pakistan Cricket Board than they had already created for themselves.”
The statement further added, “[On] 13 February, Blessing [was] approached by Islamabad United about a playing opportunity for the 2026 PSL. The deal [was] agreed subject to obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Zimbabwe Cricket. An NOC cannot be obtained without a contract from the PSL. Islamabad United/PSL announced the signing to the world via social media.” The statement concluded by saying, “You simply cannot breach a contract you have never received. We feel ANY ban on participation in the PSL is incredibly excessive and is not consistent with the punishment given to players that have actually breached a contract in the past. We urge the PSL to gracefully withdraw the ban and accept this situation for what it is, an administrative error at their end, nothing more. We bear no grudges toward the PSL/Islamabad United.”
Don’t worry about who is missing out: Ashwin wants Shreyas in India’s T20I team
Ravichandran Ashwin is impressed by the presence of Shreyas Iyer on the ground. According to him, Shreyas is “in the zone” and it’s reflecting in his performance and in the matches played by Punjab Kings. “I’m not just looking at the runs being made, the volume of it, or the sixes or the fours, but just the sheer presence on the ground. And that tells you a story,” Ashwin said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut programme. “When Shreyas Iyer is just marking his guard – every single time and for the last five games in this edition – it just looks like he’s in a zone that’s probably not conceivable for people who have not seen the game in the same way [as cricketers]. It’s called a zone. You get into phases in your career where you almost feel like [for] a year or two, you don’t put a foot wrong.
Ashwin also thinks that missing his service in the India’s T20I side is not Shreyas’s loss anymore. Despite India winning two back-to-back T20 World Cup without Shreyas, Ashwin wants him to be part of the Indian T20I team. “Look, I look at it slightly differently. When somebody has to be there in the team, write their name down. You just need to pick 15. Write the best 15 names possible. Don’t worry about who is missing out. In the case of Yashaswi Jaiswal, for that matter, which I have always spoken about, the guy is an absolute monster. His hunger for runs is exceptional. It is also telling you the riches of Indian cricket in many ways.”
