NEW DELHI: “Only 8 runs were needed in the last over. There was a lot of pressure because defending just 8 runs in the last over is very difficult. They had 2 wickets remaining,” UAE southpaw Muhammad Jawad Ullah recalled. Just a fortnight ago, he was tasked with what many considered nearly impossible. In the final over of the ILT20 Gulf Cricket Championship (GCC), Kuwait needed only a handful of runs to deny UAE their maiden title.
Kuwait batter Meet Bhavsar, looking solid at 68 off 52, was the one many would have bet their house on to finish the game off. The start to the over was not suggestive of any late drama either.
“The first ball was a wide, and the second delivery went for a four. At that point, I went to the captain, and he gave me a plan,” Jawad Ullah shared in an exclusive conversation with TimesofIndia.com.
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What happened next? The answer lay in one name: Jawad Ullah.
“I bowled based on the captain’s plan and the batter got out,” Jawad Ullah recounted, vividly remembering the defining moment as his teammate Nilansh Keswani pounced onto an incredible catch, sending dangerous Bhavsar back to the pavilion.
The 25-year-old left-arm pace spearhead then smelt blood: “That was the last wicket, which was easy for me. I bowled a yorker, and he got out too. So, this was an impossible match that we won.”
“Getting Bhavsar out was very difficult because he was completely set. But I bowled according to the plan, and we won,” a satisfied Jawad Ullah, who was named the Player of the Match for his heroics in the eleventh hour, smirked as UAE clinched their first GCC title under the Ring of Fire at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
From Pakistan to UAE: Where cricketing dreams find wings
Hailing from the Malakand district in Pakistan, Jawad Ullah, now 25, has been lulling his cricketing dreams since childhood. In a household of parents, four brothers, and two sisters, cricket was seen more as a tool of entertainment than a pursuit of professional ambition.
“In Pakistan, I only played tennis ball cricket. There was no coach or experienced player to guide me. Many people told me to join an academy for hard ball cricket. My thought was that there are so many talented players who don’t even get a chance, so I didn’t know what it was at that time—maybe fear, or something else,” Jawad Ullah shared.
Life took a pivotal turn in 2020 when Jawad, burdened with family responsibilities, moved to the UAE and found a place to stay in Khor Fakkan, a scenic town in the Gulf of Oman.
Thereafter, the twists and turns of life followed as he took up a physically demanding electrician’s job. Working long hours from morning to late evening was somewhat nature’s ploy to take him away from cricket.
Amid the bedlam, a 20-year-old Jawad Ullah would get minimal time to sweat his arms. “I didn’t get much time to play cricket—only about 1-2 hours. Even then, I played with a tennis ball because playing with a hard ball requires a lot of time, at least 5-6 hours.”
Fate intervened when his skills with the tennis ball began catching attention.”There was a brother named Sadiq. He told me that I had talent and said, ‘You should start playing with the hard ball.’ I said, ‘Okay, I’ll start playing with the hard ball.’ So once, I was casually bowling with a hard ball, a man came up to me and said, ‘You bowl really well; play for our team.’ I said, ‘Okay, done.’ From there, I slowly started improving a lot,” revealed Jawad Ullah.
Now certain that playing cricket could be a full-time profession, the once-master of the tennis ball is making waves among his siblings back home.
“The youngest of us has a great interest in cricket; he’s also a bowler. The one who is 2 years younger than me stopped playing cricket and focused fully on his studies. But the one who is even younger still plays cricket. He tells me to take him to the UAE, and I tell him, ‘Right now, it’s time for your studies!’ (laughs),” quipped the 25-year-old, who eventually left his job in 2022 and then made his international debut in a T20I match against Afghanistan in February 2023.
Chasing Shoaib Akhtar’s pace
Having played 42 T20 matches across T20 leagues and with 60 scalps to his name, Jawad Ullah has already earned loads of plaudits.
Recently, former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir lavished praise on the left-arm seamer, describing him as one of the most promising talents in UAE cricket during an interaction with TimesofIndia.com.
“Yes, Amir bhai and I played together in the Abu Dhabi T10. At that time, we had a conversation in the nets. He told me that if I mastered the slower ball, it would become very difficult for batters to read me. He also praised my inswing, saying that my inswing is really good,” added the pacer.
Reflecting on his debut at the iconic Abu Dhabi ground against Afghanistan, Jawad emphasised the invaluable experience he’s gained. “Since I made my debut at the Abu Dhabi ground against Afghanistan, I have learned a lot. Playing with so many players, working with coaches and trainers, it feels like brothers teaching and guiding me,” said Jawad Ullah before revealing his biggest aim.
Growing up in Pakistan, a nation renowned for producing world-class fast bowlers, Jawad often found inspiration watching the legends, especially Shoaib Akhtar, on television.
“During childhood, when we watched cricket on TV, seeing Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Amir bowl—this was around 2008 or 2009—I was always fascinated by fast bowlers, especially Shoaib Akhtar,” admitted Jawad Ullah. “I remember thinking how fast he bowled and dreaming that one day I would also bowl as fast as him. Even today, after all the training and hard work, I haven’t reached his level yet, but one should keep trying.”
‘I want to be the best bowler in ILT20’
Jawad Ullah’s side Sharjah Warriorz will kick off their ILT20 tournament with a fixture against Gulf Giants on Sunday. Jawad admitted how he had been rigorously preparing for the upcoming season, leaving no stone unturned.
“Right now, everything is going really great, and all the players and management are quite happy. Personally, I am training hard, so there’s a lot of load on my body. I spend almost an hour in the gym, 4-5 hours bowling, and also have to work on fielding alongside that,” he explained.
For someone brimming with as much talent as this pacer, platforms like the IPL naturally represent a career pinnacle. However, in last year’s auction, some unfortunate turn of events saw Jawad Ullah missing out on an IPL bid.
“I had sent my name for the IPL, but then, there were some paper-related issues, so it didn’t happen. There was some problem with the passport, which is why I couldn’t go through.”
A fan of former India captain MS Dhoni, Jawad Ullah has just one dream giving him sleepless nights: “I want to be the best bowler in the ILT20 and win the trophy.”
