CP Rizwan hopeful 'better things are on the way' as he targets UAE comeback

When CP Rizwan lost the UAE captaincy and then his place in the side during a slump in the national team’s fortunes earlier this year, he might have been moved to give the game away.

Now into his mid-30s, he had borne the brunt of a confused end to the coaching reign of Robin Singh, and his own form had suffered in direct correlation to the side’s.

He lost the armband to Muhammad Waseem overnight during a portentous series in the World Cup League 2 in Dubai. He made the squad for the trip to Nepal that followed but lost his place in the XI.

The situation would have been enough to test the resolve of the most hardened player, but the idea it might push Rizwan to give up could not have been further from the case.

The former captain has almost literally gone to the end of the earth and back again to try to prove his commitment to making a comeback.

Even though his wife had only recently given birth, Rizwan travelled to the United States earlier this month to take up a chance to play in Minor League Cricket.

Playing alongside the likes of Rusty Theron, the South African former IPL fast bowler, and Sri Lankan international Angelo Perera was too good an opportunity to turn down.

His side, the East Bay Blazers, were flying in the competition when Rizwan received a call from home saying his new young son had been hospitalised with a chest infection.

He flew back to the UAE immediately. He spent a number of nights in hospital in Dubai with his son, Hud, in ICU, before he was discharged at the weekend.

Once the family were settled at home again, Rizwan rebooked to return to the US, where the Blazers will enter the play-offs this week.

“Family is the most important so I came back here,” Rizwan, 35, said before boarding his flight