Aryan Lakra seizes the day and points to bright future in international cricket

Aberdeen is not short of tattoo parlours. Which is handy for Aryan Lakra.

The 20-year-old UAE batter is in the habit of celebrating milestones in his life by getting ink done.

When he captained UAE to qualification for the Under 19 World Cup in 2019, he had “Carpe Diem” inscribed on his forearm.

Since then, he has added a couple more, one related to strength, power and witchcraft, and another – for his birthday – meaning “death is inevitable”.

Maybe now he will drop in to the Reign in Blood tattoo shop, just a short jaunt from Aberdeenshire Cricket Club in Mannofield, where he made his long-awaited international debut on Thursday.

The UAE lost the game, after a thrilling, last-over finish against United States. But Lakra had shown he is fully ready for senior cricket with a classy innings of 84 having opened the innings.

“This deserves a tattoo,” Lakra said. “It deserves another one to mark this memory for me.”

It is a memory that has been well earned. He might have made his debut 18 months earlier, against Ireland in Abu Dhabi, only to contract Covid just as he was set to make his bow.

UAE batsman Aryan Lakra raises his bat after reaching an ODI fifty on debut. Peter Della Penna / Cricket Scotland

He has had to wait patiently since, but he is grateful for the delay.

“In Jan 2021 I was really close to making my debut. Now, 18 months later, I have finally made it,” Lakra said.

“Today I realised it was all worth it because I don’t think that, back then, I was as prepared as I was now. I went into bat, and I was pretty confident to be honest.

“I said to [Muhammad] Waseem, ‘I just want to survive the first ball and not get a golden duck, then after that I will be happy with whatever I get.’

“Luckily, right after that I