UAE hero Aayan Afzal Khan: ‘My dad said never give up – this is for him’

Nursing cramp and heat exhaustion, but also the warm glow of satisfaction, Aayan Afzal Khan sent a message of thanks halfway across the world to his parents, after scripting one of the greatest wins in the history of UAE cricket.

The Sharjah schoolboy, who only turned 16 in November, played the seminal role in the national age-group side’s extraordinary 82-run win over West Indies in the Under 19 World Cup on Friday.

Victory put the UAE into Monday’s plate final, where they will play the winner of Saturday’s second semi-final between Ireland and Zimbabwe.

All had seemed lost when the hosts reduced them to 24 for four in Trinidad, only for Aayan to alter the face of the game.

The Goa-born allrounder, who has lived in UAE since he was two years old, made 93 before he was the last player out. That underpinned UAE’s total of 224 for nine.

West Indies scarcely threatened in reply, and Aayan even returned to the field to take the final wicket – having earlier been stretchered off while suffering from cramp.

The teen put his success down to the sacrifices made by his father, Afzal, and mother, Shahista, to help him pursue cricket.

“My parents have come through a lot of struggles and brought me at here at this stage, and I would like to thank them a lot,” Aayan said.

“I have been working hard to achieve this for the past six months. It’s every child’s dream to play for your country, and score a crucial knock for your team in a crucial game.

“My dad has been training me from when I was five years old, and it’s his dream that I represent my country and play well whenever I get chance.

“He has trained me in batting a lot and he focuses on my cricket a lot. He is strict at times which helps me always to perform good.

“He has said me never to give up in any situation when you’re playing for your country. [Against West Indies] I got hit on my hand but still kept playing, so he has helped me a lot. He always takes me to practice whenever he gets time. He spends hours with me at training.”

Aayan’s batting feats against the hosts arrived in spite of the fact he is regarded as a left-arm spinner first and foremost.

Until this point in the tournament, he had been batting deep in the tail, but was promoted as UAE dealt with a number of absences due to Covid and food poisoning.

“I have been batting lower down the order but was patient and waiting for a chance to bat up the order and score some runs for my country,” he said.

“Two days before West Indies game our head coach Mudassar-sir [Nazar] and assistant coach Najib [Amar] said that I’ll be playing at six against West Indies.

“They gave me enough time to prepare mentally. I was ready to bat up the order, and Alhamdullilah I proved myself.

“I was happy that I was able to score some crucial runs for my country and lead them to a victory against a Test nation. It’s great feeling for me scoring 93.”

Aayan hopes the win, which ranks among the finest ever by any UAE side, is being well-received back at home.

“It’s a big achievement for us as an Associate nation beating a Test nation by almost 100 runs so the celebrations were wild,” he said.

“We were very happy with how the match went and looking forward to the finals which is big game for us. Winning the plate would be a very big achievement for us because everyone back in our home country will be proud of us.”

Closing the loophole on sugary drinks

As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.

The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.

Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.

Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category

Not taxed:

Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

Disability on screen

Empire — neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis; bipolar disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues

24: Legacy — PTSD;

Superstore and NCIS: New Orleans — wheelchair-bound

Taken and This Is Us — cancer

Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)

Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg

Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety

Switched at Birth — deafness

One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy

Dragons — double amputee

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: ARDH Collective

Based: Dubai

Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi

Sector: Sustainability

Total funding: Self funded

Number of employees: 4

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PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

All times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)

Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)

Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)

Tamkeen's offering

Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
Option 2: 50% across three years
Option 3: 30% across five years

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The Vile

Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah

Director: Majid Al Ansari

Rating: 4/5

MATCH INFO

Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')

Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)

Simran

Director Hansal Mehta

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey

Three stars

The President's Cake

Director: Hasan Hadi

Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem

Rating: 4/5

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