Emirates Cricket Board has today announced the team that will compete in the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan.
Commencing Thursday February 16th the three-match series will be played at Abu Dhabi Cricket and Sports Hub’s Zayed Cricket Stadium. The second match will take place on Saturday 18th with the third and final match played Sunday 19th. All matches start 18:00 UAE time and will be broadcast live – more details to follow.
Dr. Tayeb Kamali, Selection Committee Chairman, Emirates Cricket. “Emirates Cricket is delighted to welcome Afghanistan Cricket to the UAE.” “This collaboration (with Afghanistan Cricket) is integral to the development of our players as we re-commence our Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and International Cricket Council (ICC) schedule.” “We wish our players the very best as they take part in what promises to be a very competitive T20I series.”
The 16-man team to face Afghanistan is; C.P Rizwaan, Muhammad Waseem, Vriitya Aravind, Alishan Sharafu, Rohan Mustafa, Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Aayan Khan, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Zahoor Khan, Fahad Nawaz, Akif Raja, Muhammad Jawadullah, Sanchit Sharma, Ansh Tandon.
Robin Singh, Director of Cricket and National Teams’ Head Coach, is cognisant of the intense calendar that faces the UAE in their lead-up and bid to qualify for the Asian Cricket Council’s (ODI) Asia Cup as well as the ICC’s Cricket World Cup (ODI), both to be held later this year. “We have seen a number of impressive performances through our participation at our most recent T20 tournaments, and, we need to ensure these learnings and skills continue to be worked on and integrated into our overall playing style. Afghanistan is a team that will test our abilities and force our players to adapt and stay on top of their game, this is a challenge we, as a group, are looking forward to.”
