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Humaira’s dreams come true

It was a dream come true. Getting a special award for the Best Lady Cricketer of the UAE was indeed a remarkable achievement for Humaira Tasneem, who has been part of the ECB Women’s Team since 2008.

The 12th Grade of the Delhi Private School Sharjah thanked her coaches and ECB for the award, which included a cash award of Dh1,500.

Humaira Tasneem has taken 22 wickets at an average of 16.31 runs

“This is great. I never got such a big award so far. It is all because of ECB. They have been promoting women’s cricket a lot and it helped us,” an elated Humaira told Khaleej Times. She has represented UAE in 25 matches and has taken 22 wickets at an average of 16.31 runs. “My first tournament was in Thailand and then I played in Singapore, Malaysia and Kuwait. I am an off-spinner and I got five wickets against Hong Kong in the previous tournament I played in Thailand,” she said.

Humaira, while playing against a strong Hong Kong squad, bowled an impressive spell taking five wickets for 18 runs from her five overs in the ACC Women’s Championship in 2013. “I started playing at the age of 13. (Former Indian captain) Mohammed Azharudin is from my town (Hyderabad) and he is a close relative. I watched my brother playing, and then I regularly watched matches on TV and got an inspiration to play the game myself.

“I moved to the UAE at the age of 14 and then I didn’t play cricket much. I was in Abu Dhabi first and I started playing cricket again after we moved to Dubai. I am studying at the Delhi Private School Sharjah. The teachers and coach helped me a lot,” Humaira, who plans to play in an under-19 tournament next, added.