When the UAE women’s team were on the brink of their finest win to date, at the start of last month, their outstanding player might have been thinking to herself: “I’m glad I stuck with this.” And, perhaps, how proud her dad might have been.
The national team had Bangladesh pinned down in the Women’s Asia Cup at Dubai International Stadium.
They needed to win to advance to the knockout stage of the competition, and Suraksha Kotte had given them a shot at doing so. The UAE were giving away lots of places in the world rankings to their opposition, and years’ worth of experience.
Looking at Suraksha, you would not have known it. Bowling spin with the new ball, she tied the Bangladesh top order in knots, on her way to figures of 3-11 in four overs.
As it turned out, the UAE fell short in the run chase. But it was another sign the national team are finding their place among the leading sides of the women’s game.
DP World Women's Asia Cup 2026: Bangladesh beat UAE by 34 runs. One spirited performance by the bowlers to restrict Bangladesh to 103/7. We finish at 69/9 in reply.
— UAE Cricket Official (@EmiratesCricket) September 8, 2026
The DP World Women's Asia Cup - an incredible experience for our girls - the opportunity of playing at home in… pic.twitter.com/s2K3X0e4kB
The identity of the opposition was significant, too. Bangladesh were the opponents when the UAE played their first women’s international match in 2007. It was rather a mismatch, with the UAE being bowled out for just nine runs.
Suraksha was just four years old back then, and 12 months away from moving with her family to live in Dubai.
Now she is one of a cohort of players who have turned the UAE side from easy-beats into serious Asian cricket contenders.
But, now aged 23, Suraksha might have been lost to the sport, and not just because she has an exacting day job.
Her father, Sudheer, died in March 2021. She and her brother were students at the time. But their suddenly altered circumstances meant they had to consider leaving Dubai and returning to the family’s hometown in Andhra Pradesh in India.
Somehow, they managed to make it work. Mother Shrisha found work at GE – her late husband’s old workplace. Suraksha has since graduated to become an associate project manager for software giants Oracle, and brother Suraj works for Nissan.
And, away from her day job, Suraksha has managed to maintain a highly impressive cricket career, too. All inspired by someone in particular.
“He's one of the reasons why I'm still playing cricket; it's for him,” Suraksha said of father Sudheer. “He was there at the time of my debut, but he didn’t see when I was properly performing, and playing for the team regularly.
“He had been there throughout my development phase. We used to get up in the morning, and he’d say, ‘Let's go practice’. It was like a typical dad-daughter story.
“For most female cricketers, the dream starts with their dad and then their brother. My dad was a huge cricket fanatic. He enrolled my brother into an academy and I just went along with my dad.”
Suraksha remembers how proud her father had been when she made her senior debut, against Malaysia in Bangkok. “You couldn't imagine the happiness he had,” she said.
“He went to the office and he was telling all of his colleagues with excitement, ‘Oh my daughter's playing with UAE, she's playing cricket internationally. And that’s a pretty big deal.’”
Given the challenges her family have faced, she is glad to have had such a reliable support network to call on.
The UAE women’s team have grown up together, and Suraksha regards them as family. “We're a small circle,” she said. “We've grown up with each other. Our families meet so often, we've actually become like one huge family.
UAE beat Indonesia at Asia Cup – in pictures
“That strengthens our bond even more. It really feels like we're on this journey together and we have a dream of qualifying for the World Cup.
“It feels amazing that we're able to be on this path together at this moment. We're just really grateful for this.”
The women’s side have yet to play at a leading global event, but they have been closing the gap on the game’s elite.
They pushed Sri Lanka close in T20 World Cup qualifying, just as they did against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup.
They have taken scalps of full member nations, including against Zimbabwe in one-day international cricket.
Suraksha echoed the sentiments of her captain, Esha Oza, who said they need more matches against sides from Test nations if they were to take the next step.
“We play these teams once in two years, so imagine what we can do with more exposure, and playing them every few months,” she said.
“As a team we can grow to that level with the exposure, with the right skills, with the right mindset. We can cross many scores that we haven't even thought of right now. We can achieve that for sure.”