Dubai: Emirates Cricket Board on Sunday announced the 14-member squad that will compete against Papua New Guinea and Nepal in the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 (CWCL2) tri-series. The series will be played at the Dubai International Stadium from February 27 to 6 March 6. There is one change to the side that drew the two-match series against Namibia 1-1 with batter Chirag Suri replaced by Aryan Lakra.
Robin Singh, Emirates Cricket’s Director of Cricket and Head Coach, said: “The Namibia series was a big challenge for us and we made some gains and showed good fight, especially in the opening match. However, we need to combine better if we are to become consistent performers as a team. We have a very demanding schedule ahead and very clear goals to achieve. All our players need to maintain a razor-sharp focus as we strive to earn qualification for the 50-over World Cup this year, which is our ultimate goal.”
The CWCL2 series is an important qualification event for countries to earn their place in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023, the precursor for inclusion in the ICC Cricket World Cup — India 2023. The UAE still have a strong opportunity to qualify through by securing wins in the tri-series as well as a successful campaign in the one remaining tri-series to be played in Nepal next month.
The 14-man UAE team for tri-series:
C.P Rizwaan (captain), Muhammad Waseem, Vriitya Aravind, Alishan Sharafu, Aryan Lakra, Rohan Mustafa, Rahul Bhatia, Hazrat Billal, Aayan Khan, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Zahoor Khan, Sabir Ali, and Asif Khan.
Tri-series fixtures:
February 28: UAE vs PNG, Dubai International Stadium
March 2: UAE vs Nepal, Dubai International Stadium
March 5: PNG vs UAE, Dubai International Stadium
March 6: UAE vs Nepal, Dubai International Stadium.
