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00:00They have got a good bunch of cricketers. It's the only thing that we have to give them the right direction and the mindset.
00:06Lalit, you are the UAE coach also. So, not just the World Cup. We want to know something about the UAE team as well.
00:15Tell us something about the UAE team and their preparations.
00:19I think when I took over, they never qualified for the World Cup. T20 World Cup and 50-year World Cup. So, they were really down.
00:26I think it was a good start to know the players. As you know, the UAE team is all about our expats only.
00:35They have got a good bunch of cricketers. It's the only thing that we have to give them the right direction and the mindset.
00:42Players at the international level, they are good enough. But their approach, their adaptability and their mindset will differentiate between other players as well.
00:53That's why I keep on telling them that once you are in the national team, you have to prove that you are different from others as well.
00:59Because you are equal. But how you can do? A. Adapting to the situation. B. Consistency in your performance.
01:07And 3. Don't be happy with what you get. What I have seen them, if they get a 30-40, they will just hit and throw their wicket away.
01:15Which I think I spoke to Satish as well. I said this is not the way Mumbaikars play. Because if batsman is set on 30-40, he will not leave. He will go for a big score.
01:25And I think that has come in now. If you look at the players' performance in the Oman Premier Cup, Ali Shahan, he is the highest-run scorer.
01:35And he got 50 in every game. That consistency. And he never threw your wicket because he was not out on Kapala vocation.
01:42Then Wasim, the captain, I think he played a fantastic inning in the final as well. So, he is No. 2 in overall batting score.
01:52And 3rd was another guy, Asif Khan. Because he also got runs. So, if your top 3 batsmen get runs, then it becomes easy for the team to win.
02:03And that's what I said. From the top 4, one guy has to make a big score. And one batsman has to bat till the 15th over or the 16th over.
02:13Because last 4 overs, a batsman has to be there. Because if a batsman is there, we can get 60-70 runs in the last 4 overs as well.
02:19And that was our plan. And I think they really executed that plan. And they really tried to keep that thing in their mind and play accordingly.
02:30And I think the results are shown. I am really, really happy that the players also responded. And before going further, we had a camp as well.
02:39If you look at… I am really happy to say that. Because it was their Rosa time. During the eve, they had that Rosa time.
02:49But still, they used to come in the afternoon. We used to have 3 hours rigorous training. I said, if you want to win a championship, you got to play and work hard.
02:57We worked hard on our skill level. We worked hard on our bowling as well. We worked hard on our fielding as well.
03:03Yes, we fielded very well throughout the series. Except the final, we dropped a few catchers. But I think that happens to every team.
03:09But if you look at overall, I think our batting improved a lot. Because batsmen took the responsibility. Bowlers bowled very well.
03:16Senior players took the responsibility. And I think fielding was excellent during the whole tournament.
03:24And you guys have qualified for the 2025 Asia Cup. So, how have your preparations been geared towards that?
03:33Yeah, because we have just got on the first step now. So, I think now more work has to be done.
03:41I said, yes, we are happy that we are qualified for the Asia Cup. And we will be playing.
03:47I always keep on telling them that you will get an opportunity to play against the Indian team, Pakistan team, Sri Lankan, top teams.
03:53So, you will get an opportunity to rub shoulders with them. That is one. Now, the real hard work starts.
04:01Because we have to prepare well. We got to work hard. We have to go to that level as well.
04:07So, we got to work on our skill level, our fielding level and bowling, I think. And the mental aspect as well.
04:13So, hopefully, we will get on. We have given them that. Because they are playing this D-50 and D-10 now.
04:19So, after that, we will start our camp as well. From June onwards.
04:23Lakshanya, we spoke a lot about it. But in the success, and with so many youngsters coming from the home-grown talent.
04:31Basically, earlier, it used to be the discarded players of Ranji Trophy or from other countries.
04:36They used to come and start their life in the second inning, basically, in UAE.
04:40But now, we have so much talent and so many youngsters coming into the picture.
04:46How do we view it? And what next for them? How do you want more into that?
04:50And what is your thought process in that, Laksh?
04:53See, if your national team has to be strong, you have to have your bench strength.
04:57So, I started working backwards, towards the bench strength.
05:00Because for every player, if somebody gets injured, you should have a ready player as well.
05:06So, I got a squad of, say, 25 players. In fact, I had 30-35 players from the camp.
05:12And I worked on them. So, you got, say, suppose, Ayaan is their left-hand spinner.
05:16So, we got Rahul Bhatia as well. Then, Nilanj as well.
05:19And you have an off-spinner like Basile. We got Farazuddin. We got Dhruv.
05:25So, off-spinners are there. Fast bowlers, we have got 5-6 fast bowlers who can be there if somebody gets injured.
05:31Even in the batting, we don't rely on just two or three batsmen.
05:36Because you got to really work backwards as well.
05:40Because if somebody gets injured, you should have a ready.
05:42So, I am working on the bench strength. And I think that is the real, I would say, success for the national team as well.
05:53Because if your bench strength is strong, your national team will be strong.
05:56Because there will be competition. I want that competition to be tough.
06:00Because players cannot take places for granted.
06:03So, if they know that they have to really work hard to sustain their places,
06:08I think that's what the coach wants. Because the players will give their best performance every now and then.
06:15Our motto is to upgrade our UAE cricket. That's it.
06:18That's all from us, guys.
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