ISLAMABAD: Since their move to the United Arab Emirates in 2008, Pakistani brothers Affan and Suleiman Tanvir have passionately devoted themselves to rescuing stranded travelers in different parts of the desert. But last month, their mission took an unexpected turn when the region experienced its heaviest rainfall in 75 years.
The brothers were suddenly thrust into a critical role, rescuing hundreds from waterlogged roads and submerged vehicles, as unprecedented floods transformed the streets into rivers. Alongside their team, they not only provided food and water but also pulled numerous cars to safety, navigating the chaotic aftermath of the storm in Dubai.
“We are proud of our work and glad to be recognized by the people for our rescue mission,” Affan told Arab News on Friday from Dubai over the phone. “We are honored and delighted to help people stranded on the roads during the torrential rains.”
Affan and his team rescued over 200 people and pulled out some 80 vehicles, including cars and minivans, during the rescue operation in Dubai and Sharjah that started in the morning on April 16 and continued for about two days.
Besides his brother Suleiman, the three other members of his rescue team included Alay Zaidi, Shahid Ibrahim Gul and Muhammad Owais.
Currently settled in Al-Hoshi in Sharjah, Affan brothers were born in Saudi Arabia while their parents belong to Karachi, Pakistan. In the UAE, they have set up a company for import and export of steel and transport.
The two brothers and their team were mentioned by several media houses for their heroic work, and the Pakistani consulate in Dubai acknowledged them by awarding certificates of appreciation.
“This rescue mission was not a new thing for us as we have been helping people stranded in the deserts for the last four years,” Affan said while narrating their extensive experience of saving people stuck in the desert terrain.
Affan said that they would receive frequent calls from adventure-seekers stuck in Ras Al-Khaimah desert for the rescue and relief as this was some 50-minute drive from their residence.
“We have a purpose-built vehicle along with all the accessories to pull out stuck cars, change their tires or toe them to main roads,” he said, adding that they had linked themselves to a local app, Rescue UAE, for people in need to get in touch with them.
“We use walkie-talkie to speak with the stranded people as there are no mobile phone signals in the desert,” he said, adding that they sometimes receive two or three rescue requests in a day from people stuck in the desert, especially during the winter season.
Talking about his team, he said that he started the rescue and relief work in 2020 along with his brother, but gradually his team started to grow with more people joining them.
“We are a 15-member team now and more people are joining us after getting inspired by our recent rescue work during the rains,” he added.
His team member Alay Zaidi told that two of their team members got shards in their feet during the rescue work, but they continued their mission to alleviate the sufferings of the families stuck on the roads along with children and women.
“It is a passion for us to help people in need, and we will continue doing our work with the same zeal and zest,” he continued. “We have received appreciation from the UAE people and officials for our work, and this is nothing less than a medal for us.”

LONDON: England Women’s cricket coach Jon Lewis revealed Friday he is using artificial intelligence to aid team selection, saying the technology helped his side square last season’s Ashes.

Lewis first became familiar with the work of London-based PSi when he took charge of the UP Warriorz franchise in India’s Women’s Premier League.

Now the 48-year-old former England paceman uses the company to assist with his decisions about squad composition, team balance and in-game match-ups between players.

The system plots projected outcomes depending on the composition of each side.
“I can send multiple different line-ups to the PSi in London and they run, I think, about 250,000 simulations per team that I send, with all different permutations that could happen through the game,” he said.

We are able to run simulated teams versus the simulated opposition to give us an idea about how those teams may match up against each other.

“I came across it during my time at UP Warriorz and it’s something I looked at and thought it could add some value to the England Women’s cricket team.”

Lewis said he still favored a “people-first approach” but he added: “What data can do is give you a really objective view of what could happen and what has happened previously. I think it will help with borderline decisions in terms of selection and match-ups.”

Lewis, who has spoken to England’s rugby union coach Steve Borthwick about his own use of the PSi model, said the system had proved its worth as his side drew last season’s multi-format Women’s Ashes series against arch-rivals Australia.

“There was one selection particularly last year, one period of the Ashes that we targeted as a team,” said Lewis, speaking at the announcement of England’s squad for T20 and ODI series at home to Pakistan later this month.

“There were a couple of selections where AI really helped because both players I was thinking about picking were both in really good form and were both really selectable and it did help with those selections.

“We saw a real strength in Australia and we matched up our strength to that. That worked really, really well and it helped us win the T20 series in particular, which got us back in the Ashes.”

AI is becoming an increasing feature of top-level sport, with International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach saying last month it could help identify talented athletes “in every corner of the world.”

He said AI could also provide more athletes with access to personalized training methods.