While the sudden departure of UAE cricket coach Dougie Brown was shocking, I am sure that the former Indian all-rounder Robin Singh who fills his shoes will add value to the UAE side (“Former India all-rounder Singh named as new coach of UAE team,” Feb.12, Gulf Today).

The 56-year-old Singh who brings plenty of coaching experience to the table will seek to strengthen on the progress the team made during Brown’s three-year stint. Singh has a rich repertoire of achievements having coached the IPL side Mumbai Indians, Caribbean Premier League’s Barbados Tridents since 2013 and also had coaching stints with Abu Dhabi T10 League, first with Kerala Kings and then Northern Warriors.  He was also the fielding coach of the India’s senior team.

Singh’s rich coaching knowledge, I am confident, will help bolster and guide the UAE side to the Cricket World Cup which is schedule to be held in India in 2023. What also holds him in good stead is that he has deep knowledge of cricket in UAE, thanks to his academy in Dubai.

While an Indian is set to uptick cricket in the UAE, cricket in India is not living up to its mark on the international circuit. Team India seems to have lost grip, both in the senior and the U-19 division. A 3-0 rout in the ODI series against New Zealand and the U-19 World Cup loss to Bangladesh should jolt the respective teams into action or else 2020 could a year of regret.

The Men in Blue started the year on a strong note demolishing the Kiwis in the five-match T20I series but were brought down to ground in the ensuing ODIs. And now with the two-match Test series on the cards, India face a severe test as the emboldened Black Caps would want to continue their win streak.

The failure of Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav calls for introspection. Let’s hope the Test series bring cheers.

Ved Rodrigues

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