UAE great Ahmed Raza says he has no regrets as he looks to life after playing

Not for the first time in his life, Ahmed Raza said he was inspired by Shane Warne when it came to calling time on his playing career – which goes down as one of the best in the history of the game in the UAE.

The Australian spin legend, Raza recalled, had said it was best to field questions asking why you are retiring now, rather than being told it is time to go.

Age 34, the left-arm spinner could unquestionably still do a job, be it in international cricket, franchise, or the club game. Now, though, he says is the time to move on to the next challenge.

After all, Raza, who was first inspired to play the sport when his dad took him to watch games at Sharjah Stadium while his car was being washed, could scarcely have eked out more from his playing days.

When he debuted for UAE, against future superstars like Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, in a low-key List A game in Abu Dhabi in 2006, Raza was still at school.

While Rohit and Jadeja would go on to become Indian Premier League zillionaires, Raza would maintain a day job for the majority of his playing career.

Ahmed Raza in action for UAE in 2013. Jaime Puebla / The National

He only went professional five years ago. Starting out as a pro sportsman age 29 left only a relatively short time to chase his dreams, and he was aware he had to prepare for life after playing.

He always hoped that would involve staying in cricket, and looked to coaching. While still captain of the senior men’s team, he was part of the coaching staff of the Under 19 side when they played at the World Cup in South Africa three years ago.

He says the offer to become the assistant coach of the national team was “timed perfectly,” and “made my decision [to retire] quite easy.” It also gave reason to