UAE unveil squad for ICC CWC League 2 ODI tri series in USA

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) have announced a 15-member squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series tour in the USA. Harpreet Singh will lead the side, having been given the captaincy earlier this year. 

Two new faces have been added to the squad, namely 17-year-old batter and U19 international Ayaan Misbah and left-arm spinner Awais Ali Shah. Apart from them, Basil Hameed also marks his return to the team, having last played an ODI in November 2024.

The spin-bowling all-rounder also wasn’t a part of the T20 World Cup this year, with his last appearance in the shortest format in January.  Meanwhile, UAE have struggled so far in their qualification path to the Cricket World Cup 2027 and are reeling at the bottom of the Cricket World Cup League 2 table with just eight wins in 28 games.

However, they still have a chance to qualify for the mega event, even if they finish outside the top four of the competition through the Qualifier play-off. In the tournament, the bottom four teams of League 2 will join the top-two finishers of each group from the Cricket World Cup Challenge League, the 50-over competition below it.

UAE begin campaign against Namibia

The top four teams from the eight-team Play-off will further enter the Cricket World Cup Qualifier. All six fixtures of the League 2 tri-series will be played at Grand Prairie Stadium, the venue that also hosted the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024.

UAE begin their campaign against Namibia on Saturday, 3 October, before the two teams clash again on Friday, 9 October. UAE will take on hosts USA on 5 and 11 October, respectively.

UAE squad: Harpreet Singh (c), Aayan Afzal Khan, Adeeb Usmani, Akshdeep Nath, Ali Naseer, Ayaan Misbah, Awais Ali Shah, Basil Hameed, Ibrar Ahmed, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, Muhammad Arfan, Muhammad Shahdad, Rahul Chopra, Sohaib Khan and Tanish Suri.

UAE's schedule in tri-series