‘Old is gold’, Pooran announces our success mantra

After dusting off a second win in as many matches, just as clinically as the first, Nicholas Pooran, the star of our batting attack, spoke about this Sharjah wicket, the Champion DJ Bravo, the experience of Imran Tahir, the opportunities that Muhammad Waseem deserves, and much more in the post-match press conference. Excerpts .. 

On how this game went 

I won’t say it was that close to be honest. We played the game the way it was supposed to be played. The bowlers were fantastic to close out the innings like that and we adjusted really well. We should complement our entire team for that body language. At the end of the day, it is all about finding a way to win a game. It was a challenging wicket Sharjah bowled well in patches. We are just trying our best to give our team a win regardless of whether the opposition is good or what the conditions doesn’t suit us. We are here for one reason, to win the tournament, and we just try to find ways to win the game. 

On MI Emirates’ bowling attack

I think the mix of experience and youth in our team is wonderful. Boult and Fazalhaq lead the bowling attack, and that is youth and experience. Bravo as well. Imran Tahir too. So there is a lot of experience there. It is easy for Pollard as well to captain these guys. In both these games, our bowling attack has been fantastic. We just bonded very nicely. We know what to do and do our best to execute our skills and win the game. 

Whether the Sharjah pitch surprised him

The pitch was surprising to all. You normally come to Sharjah and see your reflection on the pitch. But today was the opposite. It was really low. It is tough to bat for batsmen coming from Dubai and Abu Dhabi where there is some pace and bounce. We know some low scores would mean some good games at the end of the day. It was a bit challenging. 

The secret to DJ Bravo’s success

The mood in the camp is wonderful. It is relaxed. Bravo is a champion. We have a saying back in the Caribbean, ’old is gold’, and he is just showing his experience and why he has 500 T20 wickets. We are happy to have him and happy that he is executing his plans well for us. At Sharjah, it is a small ground. All the bowlers have to get it right in that 4-5 meter length. You need to have that skill and execution in the game. Every time he comes to Sharjah, he bowls well. It is not about medium pace, it is about experience, skills and execution. 

On Imran Tahir

‘Old is gold’. Every tournament he plays in, he does well. I have had the opportunity to play with him for two years and he always finds a way to impact the game somehow. We love to see him celebrate and love to see how he enjoys life. He puts the team first every single time and we appreciate that. Happy for him. Happy to see him doing well and showing us the way. 

On sharing the knowledge of these conditions

Not only Imran Tahir, all the guys who play here share their experience with the coaching staff. From the experienced ones to the youth, our ears are open for everyone. We try to get as much experience in these conditions. Doesn’t matter if you are the best or the worst player in this tournament, the experience is shared and it is going to take us forward in this tournament. 

On the local UAE players

All the UAE players have been performing. This tournament is going to do a world of good for them. Muhammad Waseem is a performer. He performs throughout the world. We saw it in the qualifiers (World Cup). Every time UAE plays, he performs. He played with me in T10 and that was the first time I saw him. He set the T10 on fire as well. I am really happy for him. He needs to get some exposure now having played with experienced guys. Hopefully he can get opportunities in other tournaments as well. I really think he is a wonderful player, a wonderful fielder and can bowl as well. I just hope he gets more opportunities to play and sky is the limit for him.