Dubai: For the first time in the history of cricket, a Keralite captain will lead the United Arab Emirates (UAE) team in the World Cup. Rizwan Rauf, a native of Thalassery, Kannur district, will lead the team in the Twenty20 World Cup to be held in Australia next month.
Compatriots from the same home town, Thalassery, also known for its cricket legacy, Basil Hameed and Alishan Sharafu have also made it to the 15-member team. Vishnu Sukumaran has been included as a reserve player.
Rizwan was also the captain of the UAE team in the Asia Cup qualifiers.
The UAE will play first in the preliminary round of the World Cup. The other teams in Group A in the preliminary round starting from October 14 are Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Namibia.
From this, two teams will qualify for the next round, which will be where the big teams like India, Pakistan and Australia are waiting. The first match for UAE is against the Netherlands on the 16th.
Rizwan is the only Keralite player to score a century in international cricket.
Rizwan's performance of 109 off 136 balls against Ireland at the Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Stadium on January 8 last year caught the world's attention.
Rizwan lives in UAE with his family. He made his ODI debut against Nepal in 2019 and in the same series, thus stating his presence in the Twenty20 too.
Meanwhile, senior player Rohan Mustafa failed to get a place on the team. Before the World Cup, two Twenty20 matches will be played against Bangladesh from the 25th of this month.