Aryan Lakra seizes the opportunity and hints at a bright future in international cricket. – Essonne Info

Aberdeen has no shortage of tattoo parlours. Which is convenient for Aryan Lakra.

The 20-year-old UAE drummer used to celebrate milestones in his life by having his ink done.

When he captained the UAE for the 2019 Under-19 World Cup qualifier, he had ‘Carpe Diem’ inscribed on his forearm.

He has since added two more, one related to strength, power and sorcery, and another – for his birthday – meaning “death is inevitable”.

Perhaps he will now drop by tattoo shop Reign in Blood, a short walk from Aberdeenshire Cricket Club in Mannofield, where he made his long-awaited international debut on Thursday.

The UAE lost the match, after a thrilling end to the game against the United States. But Lakra showed he is fully ready for senior cricket with an innings of 84 after opening play.

“It deserves a tattoo,” Lakra said. “It deserves another to mark this memory for me. »

It is a memory that has been well deserved. He could have made his debut 18 months earlier, against Ireland in Abu Dhabi, but he contracted Covid just as he was about to make his debut.

He’s had to wait patiently ever since, but he’s grateful for the delay.

“In January 2021, I was really close to making my debut. Today, 18 months later, I finally did it,” Lakra said.

“Today I realized that it was all worth it, because I don’t think back then I was as well prepared as I am now. I went to bat, and I was pretty confident to be honest.

” I said to [Muhammad] Waseem, ‘I just want to survive the first ball and not get a golden duck, and after that I’ll be happy with what I get’.

“Fortunately, right after that I started handling the ball and was happy to be able to do some errands for the team. »

Lakra only officially found out he was a starter in the huddle before the match started, but UAE coach Robin Singh had given him the green light the night before.

The coach came to our room the day before the game and told us: “Be ready,” Lakra said.

“He didn’t confirm anything but he just told me to be ready and that I could have a match soon.

“He said to me, ‘Prepare yourself mentally to hit the top, you’ve practiced well.’ In Dubai, I had made some good shots in practice matches.

“He told me he believed in me, and that’s why I’m here, and that I would give my best if I had the chance.

“I didn’t want to send a message to anyone at home, because if I didn’t play, the disappointment would be great.

“I hoped that if I had a chance, at home they would follow the match, all my family and my relatives. It was a nice surprise for them. »

After seeing his two more experienced opening options, Muhammad Waseem and Chirag Suri, go cheap, Lakra was tasked with fixing an innings roster for the UAE.

He did this in concert with Vriitya Aravind, his counterpart of the same age group. Between them, the two old friends shared a century-long partnership before – ironically – a misunderstanding between them led to Lakra’s elimination.

“It came naturally to us,” Lakra said of his partnership with Aravind. “We fought together for four or five years.

“There was nothing new for us. We arrived and thought it was just another game and continued.

“There was nothing we could do about it. I can’t blame him [for the run out]. He didn’t want me to go out. These things happen in the game. What can we do?

“I was quite depressed when I left. For the first 10 minutes, I didn’t talk to anyone. After that, I realized that there were so many people who would have been grateful to get to 84 races, like me.

“I was happy, to be honest. In the end, I was happy with that. »