The UAE captain Chaya Mughal and veteran is all set to retire after playing the opening match against Namibia in the 6-match T20I series at the Dubai International Stadium.
Chaya Mughal will play her last match as a UAE player on 26 September. The 37-year-old player has represented the United Arab Emirates for a total of 65 times.
Chaya made her debut for the UAE side in 2018 against the Netherlands in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers. While opening the batting, Chaya scored a brilliant knock of 36 runs, while also sharing a fantastic partnership of 110 runs with Nisha Ali. While bowling, Chaya just bowled one over conceding 9 runs from it.
In a total of 65 appearances, Chaya has amassed a total of 602 runs from 52 appearances at an average of 13.37 and a strike rate of 78.59. With the ball in hand, Chaya has taken a total of 45 wickets from 60 innings at an economy rate of 4.48.
Chaya’s best innings with the bat came against Hong Kong in 2023 in the Women’s T20 Quadrangular Series. Chaya gave the UAE side a perfect start as she scored her first and the only half-century of her career. She scored 52 runs off 46 deliveries, her knock comprised 6 fours and 1 six.
On the other hand, her best performance with the ball was against China in 2019 which was also her 5th International match of her career, she picked up 3 wickets from her quota of 4 overs while conceding 4 runs. Her outstanding spell helped the UAE side to restrict China to a total of 14 runs.
After the announcement of her retirement, Chaya said, “have completed an incredible cricketing journey with the UAE team. We have come a long way since I began my career with UAE in 2018. The team has grown in stature tremendously and our success is exemplified in our dominant performances in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier in Malaysia.”
Mubashir Usmani, General Secretary of Emirates Cricket Board, said, “On behalf of Emirates Cricket Board, I want to congratulate Chaya on her outstanding career. Chaya is undoubtedly one of the most renowned UAE cricketers and her contributions to the game both as a player and leader would be cherished for a long time. Chaya has inspired a new generation of UAE women cricketers. We have full trust and confidence in her abilities and wish her the very best as we continue to develop and grow women’s cricket across UAE, an area where her expertise is hugely beneficial to us.”
After retirement, Chaya will be completely focussing on her role as Women’s Cricket Officer with the Emirates Cricket Board. It will be interesting to see how Chaya performs in her life’s second innings.
(Quotes sourced from Emirates Cricket media release)
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