Statistics:

Full name: Hemin Pratap Desai

Born: September 10, 1977, Valsad, India

Current Age: 29 years

Batting: Right-hand bat

Bowling: Right-arm fast-medium

Teams: Oman

Career Highlights:

2004 ACC Trophy Player of the Tournament
82 and 6-43 v Afghanistan, 2004 ACC Trophy
ICC Trophy 2005
2004 ACC Middle East Cup Best Bowler
Level II Coach 2005
Played for Mahindran Mahindra, Bombay A Division
Played for Shivaji Park Youngsters (same club as Sandeep Patil)

Cricketing Ambitions:

• To keep performing in international cricket for Oman and establish myself as a qualified coach.
• Averages for ACC Trophy 2004
• Batting - 186 @ 37.20
• Bowling - 20 @ 6.55

 My View:

Cricket is widely considered as a gentleman’s game, and fortunately for me, my first ever interview on omanicricket.com was with a thorough gentleman in the form of Hemin Desai. This premier cricket player from Oman has outstanding humane quality, firm and confident handshakes, a polite and shy tone of speech and above all a gracious, yet stupendous aura around him. I was lucky to have coffee (offered by him as a treat) with this star player and here are the excerpts from the interview:

OmaniCricket : Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hemin : I hail from Mumbai, and it's been nearly 7 years working in Oman for Khimji Ramdas. I play for Muscat Cricket Team which is run by Khimji Ramdas himself and in 2004 I represented Oman National Cricket Team, played for them in ACC Trophy 2004 in Malaysia. We were the runners up there and I claimed the Man of the Series in that tournament. I guess it all started from there, and since then there's been no looking back. Oman cricket is developing definitely.

OC: Have you got interests outside cricket?
Hemin: I do have some individual talents (laughing), I like music and I sing well, but I do not see that as a good career move definitely. Singing is just for fun, and it's mostly just work for me, that's all.

OC: What type of a cricket player are you?
Hemin: I open the bowling, as well as batting. And Im a good deep fielder as well. I enjoy each department on it's own merits. I am an opening medium pace bowler and a right hand batsman.

OC: Who had the biggest influence on your career?
Hemin: There were a couple of clubs that I played in Mumbai, played professional cricket for a company called Mahindra and Mahindra, and it started from there on. Later on I shifted to Muscat, and that has built me up as a professional cricket player altogether.

OC: What is the highlight of your career so far?
Hemin: In the 2004 ACC Trophy, as I've mentioned earlier, I was nominated as the best allround player, man of the series. In Kuwait, I was the best bowler and in Ireland I claimed 7 wickets from 4 matches. Hoping for more in the future.

OC: And what has been the biggest low of your career so far?
Hemin: As far as the batting is concerned, I failed miserably in Ireland (ICC Trophy). I did not score any runs and I think that made a huge difference in the performance of the team. If I were to score runs at the top of the order, then definitely the team gets a good push. I completely failed to do so in Ireland. That's my biggest regret so far in cricket.

OC: When did you make your debut for Oman in International Level, and how did it feel?
Hemin: There are some categories like for example, if you're in Oman for four years, then you qualify as a national cricketer called as a deemed national. In 2004 ACC trophy in Malaysia, I qualified as a deemed national and I represented Oman at that point of time (June 2004). It was a great feeling. We had played lots of competitive cricket back in Mumbai, so cricket wise it was not that exciting but representing a country was an awesome feeling, as there was some responisbility on our shoulders.

OC: What went wrong in the ACC Trophy 2006?
Hemin: In the ACC Trophy 2006, again it was the batting that let us down. Bowling was good, but batting failed miserably, as we could not even chase 200 runs against Singapore which could have taken us to the Quarter finals. As a result, we were out in the very first round itself. It still hurts a lot when I think of it. Oman was billed as one of the top teams but unfortunately sometimes upsets do happen. That's cricket I guess.

OC: Where you better prepared for this tournament as you were in Ireland? What was wrong in the preparation side?
Hemin: I think there was a huge difference in the conditions, like for example in Oman we play on cement pitches and when we go outside, whether it's Malaysia or Ireland, it's a complete turf wicket and techniques do differ. On cement pitches, it's quite easy for a batsman to play, but on turf pitches, it's all about movement, footwork, timing and reflexes. It's a huge difference playing on turf and cement pitches. That let us down. Definitely we would like to pratise more and more to get out of that groove.

OC: Continuing on Cement vs Turf, when do you think that a turf wicket will actually come in Oman as this issue has been going on for almot 30 years now and nothing's happening?
Hemin: The Oman cricket board is definitely behind it. It all starts if they want to make a turf pitch with stadium, but there might be some obligations and complications because of which they might not be successful. I think they're doing their best. The ACC is supporting us too in this matter. Im just hoping for the best and sooner I hope.
 
OC: How can the team further improve from here? Has the ACC tournament given the team any lessons to learn from?
Hemin: It was definitely a huge lesson for us. I think the matters of the job is that the cricket has to be sorted out and more time has to be devoted to cricket which is not the case right now. We need more time, more matches, more practise and if we get to that stage then we can compete against any team in the world.

OC: What is your view on Sandeep Patil as a coach? How successful has he been?
Hemin: There is no doubt that he is one of the best coach amongst the world coaches right now, but the reason in him being unsuccessful, I could say, is due to the conditions that we play in. However good a coach is, if the players are not performing then they would not deliver. He's trying his best I feel. One problem that I could add is the fact that all players work too and it's not easy getting leaves and free time away from work to play cricket. That is a difficult situation too for the coach. Funding also is the problem, as tours means a lot of expenses.

OC: But aren't the National Team funded by the ACC?
Hemin: Not all. They probably bore the expenses for one practise tour. Suppose we are going out for one month, then it's a huge expense and they have to bear half of it. The OCC pay the other half. So again these are other obligations that the OCC have to take up.

OC: But before a major tournament, like for example, a tournament that could qualify our country for a world cup, why cant the OCC provide enough money for practise matches and tours? Isn't it going to be worth it in the end? Don't they get enough funding from the ACC for these types of scenarios?
Hemin: That's a question I think many have raised but nobody is quite aware as to what exactly is going on. I mean they should look forward for this and put more efforts (funding) for that.

OC: What are your views on the issues regarding the OCC and the Cricket Team Oman committee? How has this affected cricket in Oman?
Hemin: In ACC 2004 and 2005 where we played the GCC cup, at that point of time there were four Omanis in the team. And the support was there all behind us. Definitely the Omanis are not at that level, but still they can develop and they can definitely reach that level provided they are also into constant cricket and practise and constant coaching. I strongly feel that they should be provided chance in the Omani National setup. Imagine in ACC 2004, there were four Omanis and we managed to become runners up. Under Ali Akbar's captaincy we managed to win the GCC cup beating Bahrain in the finals. There was nothing wrong with our Omani collegues being in the team. They all contributed well for the team, specially Ali Akbar. There's no such thing and im not sure what's going on, but definitely they should be included.

OC: How can this issue be solved? Who are the people responsible for a solution?
Hemin: It's definitely the OCC, the working committee, and the Omanis. Some dialouge should be there from both sides. It can be sorted and we pray that it is sorted. We all have to come together and get our hands together for the betterment of cricket in Oman.

OC: In November 2007, Oman will be going to Namibia to play in Division 2 of the ICC cricket league. How big is this tournament for Omani cricket? What length of time should be given for preparations?
Hemin: To get prepared for the Namibia tournament, I think practise is one of the issues. Again, we're all short of match practise. To get better results in this tournament, we, as per my views, have to definitely play atleast 40 practise/friendly matches before that. And the practise should be on a regular basis. I dont know how or when the time will be spared, as it has to be mutually agreed between our managers, comany directors and the OCC members. We're looking forward to a good performance in that tournament. As we're going to qualify directly for the world cup qualifiers in 2009, so it's a huge tournament for us. If we dont be in the top four or six, we're going to go down to division 3 which means the OCC could have to start from scratch.

OC: How often does the national team get together for practise/friendly matches?
Hemin: There are rarely any practise matches in Oman, so it's only the leagues, knockouts and the 20/20s that we pin our hopes onto. Only several small camps are held where we play couple of matches, including some tours like for example we have taken a tour of Srilanka, Malaysia and India.

OC: Should Oman have more practise/friendly matches then?
Hemin: Definitely, but playing friendly matches on cement pitches is of no use as we get a false confidence that we have good batsmen and this shows when there is a difference in conditions. We're completely against it. We want turf wickets.

OC: Any aspirations to captain the team one day?
Hemin: It's too early for me to say, as it's quite a long way to go for the captainship, but definitely it's a dream for a person to lead the team. So hopefully inshallah, some day.

OC: As a vice captain of the National Team, what have you learnt from your current captain?
Hemin: Mr Jitender Redkar is the current captain of the team and captain of the Muscat Cricket Team as well. There are a lot of things that I've learnt from him. It's not an easy job being a captain as the whole responsibility is on the captain's shoulders plus one has to perform as a player as well. So this double role creates a lot of pressure and it's very difficult to handle that pressure. Redkar has definitely felt that pressure at this level.

OC: When the team doesn't play well, should the team or the captain take the blame?
Hemin: Captain is not the one who should take the blame. Infact we have always failed because of our batting and fielding as well. So it's the team that has to be blamed.

OC: Who do you think is the best player in the current Oman National Team?
Hemin: I think Farhan has a lot of promise. He has shown through his performance of bowling and batting. Im not being partial but I think I'm a good player, competitive. And there are a lot of good spinners as well, like Hemal Mehta. He's the current captain of the Muscat Cricket Team.

OC: And who do you think is the best “Omani National” cricket player so far?
Hemin: In 2004 we had a player called Mr. Khalid Moosa. Im not sure if he's still active. He was one of my favourite batsman that time. I just knew one technique of his, which was to see the ball coming and wack it! He's an inspiration definitely for me and Mr Ali Akbar led us very well in 2004 Malaysia and the Gulf cup. He's my favourite captain.

OC: What goals have you set for yourself?
Hemin: As i've said, my batting has let me down in Ireland as well as Malaysia. I would look forward to give a good start for my country so that we come up in the batting, put up a respectable total on board so that the bowlers get chance to have a crack at the opposition batsmen. Myself as an opening bowler experience, it's necessary to get some sort of score on board.

OC: What would you like to achieve for Oman?
Hemin: If time permits, and conditions permitting, I would definitely like to see Oman in the world cup. I dont know how far that goes but 2011 is far from now on. By that time I'll be 34 or 35 and it's going to be quite a long time till we reach there. Hoping to see Oman in the world cup.

OC: Oman were very close when they got the chance to play in the ICC trophy in Ireland.
Hemin: That was a golden opportunity but unfortunately we couldnt get through. Bermuda have qualified after 29 years of dreaming and trying since 1979, so it's too early for Oman. Oman still needs to learn from other teams. Being optimistic, I feel Oman will definitely play the World Cup one day.

OC: Who is the best Omani captain that you have played under?
Hemin: Definitely Ali Akbar.

OC: Which type of Batsman do you find the most difficult to bowl to?
Hemin: A genuine batsman who has a good technique is not much of a problem. But the batsman who moves away from technique and just uses raw hitting is the most difficult one to get out. You can bowl anything to them and you get whacked.(laughing)

OC: What did you think of the great success of the U-15 team in the recent ACC Challenge trophy 2006 in Thailand?
Hemin: If we see the teams, I think Oman was the best team in that tournament. They were sure to win. I think they were the best team simply.

OC: Why can’t the senior team do the same for us?
Hemin: (laughing) It's again a round robin question. It's again back to the same point. Lack of practise, lack of good conditions and not enough exposure at International Level.

OC: Choose two players from the victorious U-15 team that you think can do well for Oman in the near future.
Hemin: Currently I think the captain of the team Luiveen Alva looks to be a good batsman to me and I've seen him playing in the Oman league as well. A fast bowler called Taha, he can be a good fast bowler in the future if he works hard. I've seen him bowl, he's quite good.

OC: What team do you support at international level? Which team do you think will win the world cup this time?
Hemin: Im a great fan of he Australian team, as I dont see any deficiences or weakness from them. Whatever the situation, they play and recover well. They put pressure on teams. They're very good contenders for the world cup I believe. Looking at the conditions, I believe India too has a chance because the wickets are similiar to what it is back in India and they've got a good batting line up as well. Harbajan Singh and kumble can destroy any lineup. The West Indies are also another bet. They've always surprised teams, as we have seen in the recent Champions Trophy. They got good batsmen like Sarwan, Chanderpaul and Lara who is still not finished with top cricket. He's just waiting for good form, and once he gets it, it's very difficult to stop him.

OC: What if Oman were playing Australia, what do you think the score would be?
Hemin: This situation is very similiar to an earlier one. We had qualified for the Asian trophy and we were supposed to play biggies like India and Pakistan, unfortunately that could not happen due to the tight schedule of India. We were quite worried about these biggies so you can imagine about Australia. It's like a match of giant against a baby. But it could have been a good personal experience definitely whether a good performance or bad performance. It would have been a lifetime achievement for me and others in the Oman team.

OC: You havent given us the OMAN v AUS match yet?
Hemin: (laughing) If the Aussies were batting first, definitely 350 plus in 50 over match and if Oman were to bat, it would be less than 100 to be frank. It's all in the difference in Level between the teams and the conditions.

OC: Finally, if you were to give advice to a young player aspiring to play for Oman, what would it be?
Hemin: Considering that the conditions would improve in the near future, and turf wickets being available, I would like any young player to keep their cool, stay at the wicket, get the temperament and stay on the wicket till you get the best out of it. That is the only point that any player in the Omani setup is lacking. Talent wise, we're sure, and we're not less than any test playing nations. Provided, and given the chance, lot of time for cricket, im sure we can contest with Kenya and Zimbabwe.