Whatever the popularity of the UAE cricket team may be in its own land, it is assured of support from two households in Kerala and Maharashtra when it meets India in Perth on Saturday. Krishna Chandran Karate and Swapnil Patil moved to the UAE for a new life, on the cricket field and off it, and now find themselves living the incredible dream of playing in the World Cup.
Back home in Kollengode in Palakkad district, Krishna Chandran reveals, preparations are on to erect a giant screen in the middle of town. “I've been getting so many calls and messages,” he says. “Everyone's excited.”
As an all-rounder with Kerala, Krishna Chandran had hoped to build a decent career after featuring in a bunch of Vijay Hazare Trophy games, but the chances he awaited never came his way. “It was a bad time for me. I didn't have a job; I couldn't find one. And there was too much pressure from the family.” So, when an offer of employment came from Dubai, he quietly packed his bags and left. “I was so frustrated that I wasn't getting a break. I didn't tell anyone,” he says. Four years after beginning life anew as a club cricketer in the UAE, he made the national team.
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Patil’s story is not dissimilar. The wicket-keeper played for Mumbai all the way till the U-22 level but could go no further. Ajinkya Rahane and he were team-mates at Mulund Gymkhana; the two are not in touch but speak whenever they bump into each other. “I'll try and meet him tomorrow. I'll ask him about my batting,” he says. Dhawal Kulkarni and Rohit Sharma are also contemporaries.
Patil's family lives in Vasai, just outside Mumbai, and his parents, brothers, and his wife will all congregate before the TV set on Saturday again. “They woke up well before 3:30 a.m. to watch the first match (against Zimbabwe). They couldn’t wait for me to come to bat. It felt good to see them so happy. They are getting hundreds of calls and people are congratulating my parents. In fact, the whole of Maharashtra is excited,” he gushes.
Patil does not find the prospect of playing against India awkward, though. “I'm excited, in fact,” he says. “I hope I get a good score because it’s a very good team.”
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In a hugely diverse squad, the uniting factor is a rather simple one, according to Krishna Chandran.
“All of us have a similar past. We tried playing back home and it didn't work out. We had to earn our livelihood,” he says. “We may be from India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka, but it is the UAE that has made our dreams come true.”