Long-awaited UAE debut gives Hazrat Luqman perfect belated birthday present

Upon turning 34 years old this week, Hazrat Luqman received one of his most treasured birthday presents – albeit a day late.

The Peshawar-born fast bowler celebrated his birthday on Sunday. The following day, he was gifted a cap by his friend and mentor, Muhammad Waseem, ahead of his long-awaited debut for the UAE national team.

“He presented me the cap and told me this was the day I had been waiting for,” Luqman said.

“He said, ‘I know you have been working very hard. Good luck and enjoy yourself'. He was very encouraging and so were the rest of the team.

“Getting the cap from him gave me plenty of motivation to do well.”

A first appearance in international cricket has been a long time coming for Luqman. He represented Abbottabad in regional cricket back in Pakistan before moving to the Emirates to take up a job as a salesman.

He flitted between Sharjah and Pakistan from 2013 onwards, before finally settling in the latter from 2017, when he secured work – and a place in the staff cricket team – with Karwan.

“My job brought me here but as soon as I began work I started playing cricket as well,” he said.

“The company gave me the option to play cricket with their team, and from there I progressed to domestic cricket.

“In 2020 I started impressing people with my bowling and that was when I started to feel like I had a talent that could be nurtured and I could make a career out of the game in the UAE.”

Second T20I: Hazrat Luqman takes the prize wicket of opener George Munsey as Scotland lose their top-order cheaply at the Dubai International Stadium.#UAEvSCO pic.twitter.com/ImklGXWmuF

Now into his mid-30s, Luqman might have feared international recognition had passed him by – especially in an increasingly youthful national