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After a stellar few months in ODI cricket, Asif Khan is all set to make his T20I debut after being named in the 16-member UAE squad for the three-match series against New Zealand. The series will also see Muhammad Waseem make his T20I captaincy debut after he took over the reins of the national men’s side in ODIs earlier this year from CP Rizwan.
Asif is coming fresh off an unbeaten 145-ball 151 against USA in the ninth place playoff of the ODI World Cup qualifiers. In March, he had smashed a 45-ball 102* – the fourth-fastest ODI century and fastest for a batter from an Associate nation – against Nepal and followed it up with an 84-ball 103 two weeks later against USA.
The UAE squad also includes two uncapped youngsters, 22-year-old allrounder Mohammed Faraazuddin and 19-year-old left-arm spinner Jash Giyanani. Both players are yet to feature in a T20 game but were part of the UAE A side at the ACC Men’s Emerging Cup.
There was no place for Rizwan, Rohan Mustafa, or Karthik Meiyappan, all of whom were part of the UAE squad when they last played a T20I series in February against Afghanistan. Waseem, Vriitya Aravind, and Asif Khan are likely to form the crux of the top order, while Sanchit Sharma and Mohammad Jawadullah will head the fast bowling department.
Dubai is set to host the three-match T20I series, which gets underway on August 17.
UAE Squad: Muhammad Waseem (capt), Ali Naseer, Ansh Tandon, Aryansh Sharma, Asif Khan, Aayan Afzal Khan, Basil Hameed, Ethan D’Souza, Mohammed Faraazuddin, Jash Giyanani, Junaid Siddique, Lovepreet Singh, Mohammad Jawadullah, Sanchit Sharma, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan
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