Wicketkeeper-batter Haider Shah, 24, has been cleared by the ICC to replace Muhammad Zohaib in the United Arab Emirates squad for the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup.
Zohaib flew home on the eve of Tuesday’s fixture against New Zealand in Chennai. A brief Emirates Cricket Board note cited “disciplinary reasons”, adding, “more details will be provided in due course.” The ICC, announcing the like-for-like switch a few hours later, stated: “Zohaib was withdrawn from the squad due to player mental well-being and team welfare issues.”
The departure ends, for now, a tournament that had promised plenty for the 26-year-old right-hander. Zohaib’s 16 T20 internationals have brought 303 runs at 20.20, useful if not spectacular, but he remained UAE’s first-choice gloveman heading into this event.
Shah’s international numbers are similar — 18 matches, an average of 19.25 and a strike-rate of 116.66 — yet coaches like his uncomplicated method behind the stumps. Whether that steadiness translates into runs at the top of the order is another matter, particularly after UAE’s opening-night defeat.
Without Zohaib, the side still mustered 173 for 6, only for New Zealand openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert to gallop to the target with 28 balls unused. Captain Muhammad Waseem admitted afterwards the total was “20 short”, though he preferred not to be drawn on the off-field upheaval.
UAE now head to Delhi, where Canada (13 February), Afghanistan (16 February) and South Africa (18 February) await. Qualification chances look slim, but a settled XI — and a clear mind in the dressing-room — should at least give them a puncher’s chance of nicking a win or two.
