The cricket governing body of the UAE has confirmed that they are ready to welcome New Zealand for playing the T20I series in 2023. The UAE vs NZ T20 series 2023 comprises 3 T20I and are scheduled to be held from 17 – 20 August 2023. All the matches of the United Arab Emirates vs New Zealand T20 series will be held at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai. The series will kick off with the first T20I on 17 August 2023 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, then the second T20I will be played on 19 August in the same stadium, and then the series will conclude on 20 August with the last T20I.
Both teams faced each other last time in the ODI match during the 1996 World Cup. Most probably, Muhammad Waseem will be the skipper of the UAE T20 squad in the upcoming T20 series with the Kiwis. On the other hand, Kane Williamson is the current captain of the Kiwis T20 squad but they have not yet declared their final T20 lineup for the series. As of April 2023, UAE is sitting at the 13th position in the ICC T20 team ranking whereas New Zealand is in the 5th position.
In terms of head-to-head in T20I, New Zealand and UAE never faced each other and this will be the first time when both nations will meet for any T20 international against each other. Overall, United Arab Emirates has appeared in 72 T20Is where they successfully achieved victory in 35 matches and lost 36 matches with one match ending without any result. On the other hand, New Zealand has contested 192 T20Is where they won 97 matches and faced defeat in 80 T20Is with 10 ties and 5 ending without any outcome.
UAE's highest innings total in T20I is 182 for 7 which came against the United States on 16 March 2019 in Dubai. On the other hand, the lowest innings total of UAE is 73 runs in 16.3 overs that came against the Netherlands on 3 February 2016. UAE also appeared in the T20 World Cup in 2014 and 2022.
UAE players will have a tremendous chance during this UAE vs NZ T20 tournament to acquire knowledge from a number of the finest cricketers in the world as well as perform against an elite squad. So, it would be fascinating for UAE fans to watch their favorite cricketers playing against the Black Caps in the upcoming T20 series between UAE and NZ.