United Arab Emirates (UAE) have announced wicketkeeper-batter Syed Haider Shah as replacement for Muhammad Zohaib for T20 World Cup 2026. The International Cricket Council (ICC) approved the replacement after Zohaib was sent home due to ‘disciplinary issues’.
"Muhammad Zohaib has been sent back due to disciplinary issues. More details will be provided in due course. ECB will at this stage not make any further comment on the matter," The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) had said in a release.
However, the ICC media release mentions "Zohaib was withdrawn from the squad due to player mental well-being and team welfare issues."
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UAE’s updated T20 World Cup 2026 squad
Aryansh Sharma (wk), Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Mayank Kumar, Sohaib Khan, Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Arfan, Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Rohit Khan, Simranjeet Singh, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Farooq, Haider Shah (wk).
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Who is Haider Shah?
Haider is a wicketkeeper-batter who was born in Pakistan's Karachi. He played Under-19 cricket for UAE and rose through the ranks. He made his T20I debut in 2024 against Bahrain. He was a part of UAE side for Rising Stars Asia Cup 2025 as well.
So far, he has played 18 T20Is. From 11 innings, he has managed to score 154 runs at an average of 19.25 and strike rate of 116.66. His high score is 47 which came against Cambodia. He is yet to make a T20I appearance against a Test-playing nation or a full-member side.
The 24-year-old was a part of Dubai Capitals but is yet to make his ILT20 debut.
Who will UAE take on next?
UAE are scheduled to go up against Canada on February 13 at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium. Waseem-led UAE's campaign did not get off to a good start. They suffered a 10-wicket loss against New Zealand at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. UAE's net run rate (NRR) took a massive hit and they are placed fourth on the points table, below Afghanistan who have lost two games.