Entering a tournament as minnows is never an easy task but that is exactly how the UAE will feel when they take the field in the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia, starting on October 16. In the group stage, the side will take on Namibia, the Netherlands and Sri Lanka in the group stages as eight teams fight for a place in the Super 12.
After missing out on the Asia Cup, UAE will hope for a better return and to make it through to the next round. But given their dismal record in the competition, the side will need a miracle to make it through to the next round.
History in the sport
The first match that was played by UAE was in February 1976 against a visiting Pakistan International Airlines team in Sharjah, but the game was abandoned due to rain. They also hosted their first international event in 1984 when India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka contested the Asia Cup.
Soon after, The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) was established in 1989 and gained affiliate membership of the ICC the same year. They were quickly promoted to associate member status the following year. The side played their first ODIs in 1994 when they faced India and Pakistan in the Austral-Asia Cup, also hosted by them. They finished last in a tri-series against Kenya and the Netherlands the same year and also finished last in a tournament against the A sides of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 1995.
History at World Cups
Among the top emerging ODI teams, UAE has won the ACC Trophy on four consecutive occasions between 2000 and 2006. The UAE side also won the ICC Trophy in 1994 and played their first ODIs that year, later also qualifying for the 1996 Cricket World Cup. UAE has also played in the Asia Cup, in the 2004 and 2008 editions of the tournament. At the 2014 World Cup Qualifier, the UAE placed second behind Scotland, qualifying for the 2015 World Cup and gaining ODI status until 2018.
UAE also made the group stage of the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. The team qualified for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier as hosts. Moreover, with the demise of the World Cricket League (WCL), UAE will play in the 2019–22 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 going forward.
Main Players
With their most-capped T20I player Rohan Mustafa not selected for their squad, we take a look at some of the key players for this UAE side:
CP Rizwan
The cricketer from Kerala is one of the UAE's best players. The captain of the T20I side, Rizwan, who takes over from Ahmed Raza, has only played 12 T20Is, in which he has scored 218 runs at an average of 24.22 and a strike rate of 108.45. His last match for UAE came against Bangladesh, where Rizwan scored an unbeaten 51 in a loss to the side.
Ahmed Raza
Raza is UAE's most successful captain in T20Is. The team won 18 of its 27 matches under him, including a place at the T20 World Cup by winning Qualifier A in Al Amerat in February. UAE's win in the final of that tournament was also the fifth straight time they had beaten Ireland in T20Is.
UAE T20 World Cup squad
CP Rizwan (c), Vriitya Aravind (vc), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, Basil Hameed, Aryan Lakra, Zawar Farid, Kashif Daud, Karthik Meiyappan, Ahmed Raza, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Sabir Ali, Alishan Sharafu, and Aayan Khan.
Reserves
Sultan Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Vishnu Sukumaran, Adithya Shetty, Sanchit Sharma