Rahul’s flights of fancy takes wings in Sharjah
Young UAE spinner, who chased Riaz for selfies as a kid, to play with him for Northern Warriors
Like all cricket-mad youngsters, the UAE’s 19-yearold left-arm spinner Rahul Bhatia once enjoyed chasing star cricketers for selfies and autographs. As a kid once on a flight, he saw Pakistan pacer Wahab Riaz and rushed to him to take a picture. Little did he imagine then that within a few years, he would be playing alongside Riaz in the same team — Northern Warriors — in the T10 League.
Bhatia also remembers taking photographs with the legendary Shahid Afridi, against whom he may get to bowl in the T10 League if he is picked in the XI for the match against Pakhtoons. Rahul and Imran Haider are the two UAE players in the Northern Warriors team.
Breakthrough
Speaking to Gulf News, Rahul said: “I was 12 years old and on the same flight with the Pakistan team from Mumbai to Dubai. The Pakistan team was returning home after losing the 2011 World Cup semi-final to India, but Riaz and Afridi readily agreed to my request [for a picture]. On the flight, Riaz even gave me tips on how to become a good cricketer.”
A hardworking Bhatia finally got a break in the UAE Under-19 team. In January this year, representing the UAE in the Asia Under-19 Western Region tournament, he steered UAE to stunning victories and the title with an 18-wicket tally and bagged the best bowler of the tournament award. Bigger recognition was around the corner as within months, Rahul got picked for the UAE senior national team for the Asia Cup qualifiers.
“Running after renowned cricketers and watch them closely was a thrill for me. In fact, I got into that flight because I told my father I wanted to return to Dubai immediately as Sourav Ganguly was coming to play at the Sevens ground and I wanted to see him in action,” recalled Bhatia, who now trains with former Indian all-rounder Robin Singh at the latter’s academy.
Singh, who is also the coach of the Northern Warriors is impressed with Bhatia: “Rahul has huge potential. He has good skills and what he needs is a lot more exposure. I think this tournament will give him that.”