KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
The Emirates Cricket Board has been declared regional winners in four categories out of six Development Awards announced by the world governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC).
They will now compete for the Global Awards in July while the ICC has a further six categories shortlisted for the Criio Cricket Festivals.
The four awards for the UAE representative sides on the international stage include ICC Development Initiative of the Year, ICC Female Cricket Initiative of the Year, ICC Associate Member Men's Team Performance of the Year and the ICC Associate Member Women's Team Performance of the Year.
ECB has also earned a place on the shortlist for the award for the most outstanding ICC criiio Cricket Festival delivered in 2025.
The Regional winners will now be pitted as contenders for the Global Awards, determined by a specialist and independent panel of voters consisting of two-time ICC Men's T20 World Cup-winner Samuel Badree, ex-Ireland international Kevin O'Brien and former Zimbabwe international Mary-Anne Musonda. The remainder of the 12-strong panel includes representatives from ICC partners, ICC Full Members, and the media.
The winners will be revealed in July. ECB's Chief Operating Officer Subhan Ahmad said: "The awards are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our women and men's players, support staff and officials. These awards announced by cricket's governing body will motivate us further in our endeavours for the growth of the game across the UAE."
"In recent years, we have succeeded in expanding the player pool for both women and men's teams enabled through our hugely successful age-group programmes for both boys and girls all around the country. Our development initiatives are now delivering results for us as our teams continue to compete with stronger and more established teams," he added.
ECB at the Development Awards
Development Initiative of the Year – acknowledges the outstanding development initiative delivered by an Associate Member, either through a physical participation programme or a digitally delivered game development initiative.
The ECB successfully delivered the inaugural edition of the Girls U15 Academy League which included 10 teams from Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. The league was played over a five-month period.
Female Cricket Initiative of the Year – acknowledges the outstanding female cricket-focused initiative delivered by an Associate Member to promote the game, either through a physical participation programme or a digitally delivered game development initiative.
The "Get Into Cricket for Girls and Criiio Cup" in the UAE saw 40 schools participating – 10 each from Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai and Sharjah.
ICC Associate Member Men's Team Performance of the Year – acknowledges the outstanding men's on-field performance of the year by an Associate Member team in an ICC event or bilateral cricket. The UAE stunned Bangladesh in a 2-1 T20I series win in May last year. The series was played in Sharjah.
Associate Member Women's Team Performance of the Year – acknowledges the outstanding women's on-field performance of the year by an Associate Member team in a bilateral cricket. The UAE women's team under Esha Oza impressed with their first-ever ODI victory in Zimbabwe. UAE went onto to square the four-match away series hosted by Zimbabwe 2-2 in September of 2025.