Why six-foot-four former UAE prodigy could become a cricket superstar

A side strain robbed Mahika Gaur, the 18-year-old England pace sensation, of a rare opportunity to make her ICC Women’s T20 World Cup debut in the UAE, a country where she first learned the art of playing cricket.

But England coach Jon Lewis believes the six-foot-four youngster has what it takes to become a cricketing giant.

“The most exciting thing about Mahika is her age. She is still only 18,” Lewis told the Khaleej Times during an interview.

“When I first saw Mahika bowl, probably about a year and a half ago, I was like, ‘well, who is this girl’? I have watched a lot of bowlers from the time I was involved in cricket as a player. And I back myself to know what good bowlers look like, and she is incredibly talented.”

Mahika played 19 T20 International matches for the UAE since making her debut at the age of 12 before grabbing the attention of the national selectors of England, the country of her birth.

 

Last year, she made headlines with jaw-dropping performances in her first series for England against Sri Lanka.

She was on track to play a key role in the T20 World Cup before the injury ended her dream.

“I would have liked to see her play in this World Cup. But in the future, she is going to be a very exciting cricketer for England,” Lewis said.

A former pace bowler who played 16 matches across the three formats of the game for the England men’s team, Lewis credited the UAE cricket system for developing the talent of Mahika, whose parents still live in Dubai.

“Her control with the ball for someone of her age, the control of her movement for someone of her age, stood out straight away (when I first saw her). So, she has clearly done a lot of great work here (UAE),” he said.

“Obviously, a lot of credit must go to people who trained her here. I think she made her UAE debut at the age of 12 and it is incredible for someone so young to be able to play international cricket.”

The England coach also revealed what makes Mahika such a special bowler.

 

“She is so tall, she is six foot three or four, that’s unique, a left-armer at six-foot-four, swings the ball, gets bounce, she has a really unique skill set,” he said.

“She will get quicker. At the moment, she bowls at about 66-67 miles an hour, my view is that she is going to be a lot quicker than that.

“And when she does that, she is going to be a really, really fine talent. My view is that she is going to be a top, top international bowler. So I can’t speak more highly of Mahika, she is just an incredible talent.”

Remarkably, the left-arm pacer was only 16 when she kept India’s star batters on a tight leash with a superb spell of 4-0-27-1 in the UAE’s clash against the strongest team in the continent at the 2022 Asia Cup.

Now, Mahika’s smooth transition to the big league in England, a Test-playing country, would inspire her former UAE teammates to chase their dreams.

 

“My advice (to all female cricketers in the UAE) would be to dream big,” Lewis said.

“If you love playing cricket, just play as much as you can, train as hard as you can and dream big because if you dream big you never know what you can achieve in life.

“So go for it, follow your ambition and follow what you love doing.”