The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is among the ten teams selected to compete in the World Cup Qualifier 2023, beginning on June 18th in Zimbabwe. The cricket governing body of the UAE has already announced the players chosen for the Qualifier round. The UAE first entered the World Cup Qualifier in 1996 and has participated in the tournament seven times. They have successfully qualified for the World Cup twice.
The UAE squad along with Ireland, Scotland, Oman, and Sri Lanka are placed in Group B. UAE will kick off their journey in the Qualifier round with the first match against Sri Lanka at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo on 19 June 2023. Then they will face Oman in their 2nd match on 21 June 2023 at the Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo. On 23 June 2023, UAE will contest its 3rd match with Scotland and then, they will face Ireland in their last game on 27 June 2023 at Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo.
United Arab Emirates Squad ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2023
- Muhammad Waseem (Captain)
- Aryansh Sharma (wk)
- Vriitya Aravind (wk)
- Basil Hameed
- Aayan Afzal Khan
- Ethan D'Souza
- Asif Khan
- Zahoor Khan
- Muhammad Jawadullah
- Rohan Mustafa
- Ali Naseer
- Rameez Shahzad
- Junaid Siddique
- Karthik Meiyappan
- Sanchit Sharma
UAE will travel to Zimbabwe under the captaincy of Muhammad Waseem along with Mudassar Nazar as a head coach. Vriitya Aravind and Aryansh Sharma will play the role of wicketkeepers. UAE also has some experienced players like Asif Khan, Zahoor Khan, and Rohan Mustafa. Asif made headlines in March by hitting a hundred in just 41 balls against Nepal, which was the fourth fastest in One Day International cricket history. He was also the top scorer in the Qualifier Play-offs, with 296 runs and an average of 59.2. Zahoor, who bowls at a medium pace, was UAE's most successful bowler in the event in Namibia, taking 10 wickets with an average of 23.3.
In the 1996 Cricket World Cup, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was in Group B with teams like South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand, England, and The Netherlands. In their first match, they played against South Africa and lost by 169 runs. They managed to win only one match against The Netherlands, with 7 wickets to spare. However, in the 2015 World Cup, they couldn't win any matches in the group stage and were eliminated from the tournament.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has had a good track record in the Asian Cup, participating in ten tournaments from 1980 to 2019. Although they have made it to the semi-finals four times and even reached the final in 1996, they have never managed to win the Asian Cup. The UAE also qualified for the Asia Cup in 2004, 2008, and 2016. In 2004 and 2008, the matches were played with 50 overs per side, but in 2016, it was a T20 format. Currently, the UAE holds the 19th position in the ICC ODI team rankings. Their highest achievement in the rankings was on May 2, 2022, when they reached the 13th spot.
As of June 2023, UAE has participated in 102 ODIs at the international level where they achieved victory in 36 matches and faced defeat in 65 matches. In 2023, they have played 20 ODIs out of which they won 12 and lost 8 matches as of June.