On Wednesday, August 27, the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) officially announced the T20I squad of the UAE National Cricket Team for the upcoming Tri-series at home.
The veteran batsman Muhammad Waseem has been named as the captain, and he will lead the 15-member squad in the Tri-series against Pakistan and Afghanistan.
T20I Tri-series to help the teams prepare for Asia Cup 2025
The T20I series between the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Afghanistan has been scheduled to help the teams prepare well for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025.
Asia Cup will be played in the T20 format from September 9 to 28 in the United Arab Emirates, and a total of eight teams – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Hong Kong – will take part in the tournament.
UAE and Pakistan have been placed in Group A, while Afghanistan are in Group B in the competition. The Tri-series opener will be played between Afghanistan and Pakistan on August 29, followed by the second match between the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan on August 30.
Then, Afghanistan vs UAE, Afghanistan vs Pakistan, Pakistan vs UAE, and Afghanistan vs UAE are scheduled to be held on September 1, 2, 4, and 5. The final of the Tri-series will be held on September 7 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, which will host all the matches of the series.
United Arab Emirates ring in the changes to the squad
The Muhammad Waseem-led squad has four new faces – Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, and Muhammad Jawadullah – from their previous assignment, as Akif Raja, Matiullah Khan, and Zuhaib Zubair have been left out.
Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, and Muhammad Jawadullah have already donned the UAE jersey in international cricket, but Harshit Kaushik is yet to make his debut.
Pacers Siddique (59 ODIs and 71 T20Is) and Jawadullah (12 ODIs and 33 T20Is) have got good experience in their bag and would be looking to deliver good performance against the Aghans and the Men In Green. Also, leg-spinning all-rounder Farooq has played eight T20Is and two ODIs for his country.
Other than that, the United Arab Emirates squad consists of the familiar faces who have been part of the line-up for a significant period of time.
Under the guidance of head coach Lalchand Rajput and skipper Muhammad Waseem, Team United Arab Emirates would be looking to deliver a strong performance in the series to get some momentum on their side heading into the marquee Asia Cup 2025.
UAE squad T20I Tri-Series 2025 against Pakistan, Afghanistan:
Squad: Muhammad Waseem (captain), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Asif Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Ethan D’ Souza, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra (wicketkeeper), Rohid Khan and Saghir Khan.
Support Staff: Amjad Ezzi (team manager), Lalchand Rajput (head coach), Azharuddin Qureshi (strength and conditioning coach), Manipreet Sidhu (video analyst) and Manish Pradeshi (physiotherapist).