Muhammad Waseem will captain a 17-man UAE squad at next week’s Asia Cup, with right-arm seamer Matiullah Khan and left-arm spinner Simranjeet Singh recalled after solid domestic form.
“We wanted a bit more variety with the new ball and another option through the middle overs,” chief selector Ahmad Raza said, outlining why the pair were preferred to the bowlers who featured in the current tri-series against Pakistan and Afghanistan. “Matiullah’s pace gives us a point of difference, while Simranjeet knows how to close an end in Dubai.”
Both bowlers are short on recent international cricket. Matiullah, 32, last played a T20I in July, finishing the Pearl of Africa Series with figures of 4 for 46 from 10 overs across three outings. Simranjeet, 35, has not featured since the Gulf Championship nine months ago but has continued to pick up wickets for Sharjah in the domestic T20 league.
UAE, appearing at the Asia Cup for the first time since 2016, sit in a daunting Group A alongside India, Pakistan and Oman. Their opening match is against India in Dubai on 10 September, followed by Pakistan two days later and Oman on 13 September. The top two progress to the Super Fours.
Waseem believes the side are better prepared than in previous global events. “We’ve played more high-pressure cricket in the last 18 months than at any time in our history,” he said. “No one expects us to turn over India or Pakistan, but we back ourselves to compete for long periods and, if we get on a roll, who knows?”
Former coach Mudassar Nazar, now a television pundit, thinks UAE’s best chance lies in discipline. “Limit the extras, hold your catches and stay in the contest. Do that and an upset isn’t impossible.”
UAE squad: Muhammad Waseem (capt), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma (wk), Asif Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Ethan D’Souza, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Matiullah Khan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra (wk), Rohid Khan, Simranjeet Singh, Saghir Khan.
