In New Delhi, on February 18, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) bowling coach, Yasir Arafat, stated that his team's six-wicket defeat to South Africa was a valuable learning experience, especially considering their unfamiliarity with facing strong pace attacks under overcast conditions. During the match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday, the UAE struggled to gain momentum after a promising power-play, ultimately scoring 122/6 on a difficult pitch, which South Africa successfully chased down in 13.2 overs.
"As you know, South Africa's bowling attack relies heavily on their fast bowlers, and that's exactly what they delivered. They used four fast bowlers. For our boys, it was a new experience. They had never faced such intense fast bowling in a major tournament before.
"This experience is valuable for our batsmen, as we didn't perform as well as we should have. However, in every match, someone takes responsibility. If 2-3 players take responsibility in every match in the T20 format, a good score can be achieved. Therefore, these are the lessons we teach our players. As a team, if we have 3-4 batsmen, we encourage them to apply the same strategy in bowling as well," said Arafat during the post-match press conference.
Arafat also highlighted the weather conditions as a significant factor in the defeat, despite overcast skies and overnight rain leading to moisture and dampness on the pitch.
"There is a definite difference. When there are overcast conditions, as we had planned, we would have batted first. Unfortunately, we lost the toss. But I don't think it made a significant difference because the ball was coming straight. Normally, the ball gets wet. But in this case, the ball wasn't getting wet. So, the rain didn't have a major impact," he explained.
Drawing on his extensive experience in the shortest format, both as a player and coach, Arafat reflected on how T20 cricket has evolved significantly since its early days, where a previously defendable total has become increasingly difficult to maintain due to the modern era's powerful batting capabilities.
"T20 cricket has changed a lot, especially because of the leagues happening around the world. Obviously, it's more batsman-friendly and more appealing to the crowd. The boundaries are smaller. The rules are such that there's very little margin for bowlers to succeed.
"I can only wish my bowlers good luck. In 2007, if you look at the cricket of that time, 130-140 was a defendable target. So, in today's cricket, even if you score 180-190-200, sometimes it becomes difficult to defend," he said.
He further agreed that variations and deception have become the preferred strategy for modern fast bowlers, replacing raw speed as the primary weapon. "If you look at today's cricket, in Test cricket and one-day matches, you rarely find bowlers above 90 miles per hour. The reason is that when you train for shorter formats and variations, which is a key factor for a successful pacer."
"In the past, we had express fast bowlers. But due to the fast-paced nature of cricket, many injuries also occur, which is why upcoming bowlers now prefer variations and shorter formats. So, you are absolutely right that we don't see those fast bowlers like before," he said.
Despite the UAE's overall win-loss record, Arafat was optimistic about the future of fast bowlers from the Gulf nation. "They are good bowlers, and the best thing about UAE cricket is that if you look at the world, or in Asia, India, Sri Lanka – there is cricket played for all 365 days.
"If you go to other countries, they move to indoor cricket. I think there are some boys who play for more than 365 days – they play 2 matches in a day – so this is a very positive thing that the entire year, they play cricket.
"Then many of them are expats, they are slightly immature, so we are trying this only – I am there, Lalu (Lalchand Rajput, head coach) sir is also – we will try to share whatever our experience that we can in this little time that we have," he said.
Regarding the tournament's broader picture, Arafat highlighted India and Pakistan as strong contenders due to their balanced spin attacks, while noting that Australia's early exit was a surprise for many observers. He identified overall balance across pace, spin, and batting as the key quality that would likely determine the next world champion.
"Many teams are playing good cricket. Australia was a surprise for everyone, the way they played and got out of the World Cup. The conditions in India and Sri Lanka, we all know, are favorable for spin bowlers. India has a very strong bowling team. Their spin department is very balanced.
"Pakistan is playing in Sri Lanka, and their spin attack is very balanced. Sri Lanka is playing in their own country. Their teams are good, but if you look at other countries, like fast bowling, which we talked about earlier, some teams have strong fast bowling. So, if teams have balance in all three aspects, it will be good for them. They have a chance to win the World Cup."
