For once, Pakistanis and Indians play under one flag

The UAE team are out of this tournament but they have left behind one abidong memory: the power of cricket to unite. For the team has Indian...

The UAE team are out of this tournament but they have left behind one abidong memory: the power of cricket to unite. For the team has Indians and Pakistanis playing side by side, wearing the same colours and under the same flag. Not against each other, as is usually the case.

Indeed, being from either IAs their coach S Abid Ali, the former Indian Test all-rounder, and captain Khurram Khan of Pakistani origin explained, it is like being part of one big family. 8216;8216;What is most important is to develop the game and create an awareness that we are all from the same family8217;8217;, Abid said.

8216;8216;We have developed a culture in the schools throughout the Emirates and we are all pretty proud of our efforts. We are there for each other. It is a team effort 8212; a family effort and as such a matter of pride for the area we represent.8217;8217;

So Naeemuddin, who did some of his schooling in Karachi, finds himself playing alongside Ram Veera Rai, whose parents come from a town near Hyderabad 8212; not in Sindh, but in Andhra Pradesh. Naeemuddin is a stylish right hand batsman and Rai an all-rounder.

They are typical examples of the modern generation: Young men from different cultures yet who understand each other and as such know no barriers.

8216;8216;It is something I do not really think about8217;8217;, said Naeemuddin, when asked about the 8216;great divide8217;. 8216;8216;What we are doing is playing a game and cricket is the common language for us all. We don8217;t look on ourselves as being different because we live in the UAE. It is not as though we are playing for another country. I have not thought of it that way. We are all teammates and that is the way we look at it.8217;8217;

Rai feels that while it may come across as a contradiction in terms of language and regional identity, team stability is a more important exercise than background: language, religion or race. 8216;8216;As for playing for a third country, well while some may look at it that way, playing the way we do creates a UAE identity.8217;8217;

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8216;8216;I guess it8217;s a question of where we are than thinking about being Indian or Pakistan or even Sri Lankan8217;8217;, he said. 8216;8216;We have a couple of Sri Lankans in our club side and we have a lot of fun. We are all playing cricket and that is the important thing.8217;8217;

Abid Ali feels that the game has moved a long way forward in the region. 8216;8216;We have to take a hard look at Bangladesh and learn from their experience and know that the structures we are putting in place are starting to work8217;8217;, he added. 8216;8216;It is a big sport and you know there is also a large expatriate Sri Lanka community and should also remember their growing role.8217;8217;