Women's T20 Challenge will help generate interest among girls at the grassroot level, says UAE cricketer Roopa Nagraj

The Women’s T20 Challenge is all set to begin in the first week of November in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). All the four matches of the three-team event will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium during the play-offs of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The squads have arrived in the city and will be in action from November 4 to November 9.



Roopa Nagraj, Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) coordinator for the tournament, is excited at the prospect of UAE hosting such an event and believes watching some of the best cricketers in the world competing against each other will help generate interest in the women’s game in UAE among the players at the grass roots, amateur and professional levels.



“Hosting such a popular sporting event, both the men’s and women’s tournaments, can only be considered as a very good thing for cricket in and across the UAE,” Nagraj was quoted as saying by Khaleej Times. “Exposing some of the best sports people in the world to our resident and Emirati population will no doubt generate interest in the game at the grass roots, amateur and professional levels.”



Nagraj, who played for Karnataka in the Indian domestic circuit and later represented UAE in three T20Is during the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 Qualifier, lauded the Emirates board for its effort to grow women’s cricket in the country.



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“Women’s cricket has been in the UAE since 2007 and we have come a long way since then as we played our first World Cup qualifier in 2018 in the Netherlands. It was a great opportunity for all of us to represent the UAE at an international platform,” she said.



“I have been fortunate to play this game and represented India A and I have been playing for the UAE since 2016. There are definitely talented girls here in the UAE,”



UAE have so far played 16 T20Is and won eight matches since getting international status in the format in 2018. They last played an international during the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Region Qualifier in 2019.



37-year-old Nagraj is currently leading the Emirates Board’s women’s national development program to promote and increase participation among girls at the grass root level.



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“There is an exclusive girls’ only programme which is organised by ECB every year where any girl in the UAE can come and train for free under the guidance of qualified professional coaches which I think is a great initiative by Emirates Cricket Board,” Nagraj said. “ECB has been very encouraging and taken several efforts to promote girls’ cricket across various schools and academies here in the UAE under the guidance of the National Development Manager, Andrew Russell.”



“Also, a big thanks to Nargish Khambatta, Principal of Gems Modern Academy, Dubai, for providing us with the facility and always encouraging and promoting girls to play the sport.”







Nagraj also sounded optimistic when she talked about the opportunities UAE girls and women have to train, play and work towards representing the region in international cricket.



“In addition to the training programmes, girls now have the opportunity to take part in the ECB National Domestic League and play along with the boys to showcase their talent and train for the international games,” she concluded.