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Cricket’s theatre is unforgiving and magical in equal measure. One day the spotlight finds your flaws; the next it crowns your triumph.
Take the case of UAE’s medium fast bowler Junaid Siddique. On February 10, against New Zealand, he endured a harsh outing, conceding 47 runs in four overs. Three days later, the script flipped and his name was written in gold in his nation’s cricketing history.
With a haul of 5-35, 33-year-old Siddique became the first player from UAE to take a five-wicket haul in a T20 World Cup. His spell was instrumental in restricting Canada to 150-7, a target which UAE chased with five wickets and two balls to spare. Overall, he is only the third player from his country to take a five-wicket haul in a T20I.
At the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, Siddique had a perfect start getting rid of Canada’s skipper Dilpreet Bajwa in his first over. In his second spell, just when Harsh Thaker, who scored 50, was trying to break-free, Siddique got the better of him. And when he took his fifth wicket, he kneeled down to thank the Almighty as the entire team rushed towards him. His journey is a testament to how perseverance and resilience can turn ambition into achievement.
Born in Multan in Pakistan, Siddique migrated to the UAE at the age of 22 to find work. At that time, the cricketing dream seemed all but over. Today, his father who once dreamt of seeing his son play for Pakistan, can take pride in watching him carve out his own identity for the UAE on the grandest stages in a format dominated by batters.
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