UAE T20I Tri-Series 2025: UAE announce 15-member team, Muhammad Waseem to lead

Muhammad Waseem will lead the UAE in the forthcoming tri-nation series against Pakistan and Afghanistan at home in Sharjah. The series will be followed by the 2025 Asia Cup, also held in the UAE.

Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, and Muhammad Jawadullah are the new additions to the UAE squad following their previous cricketing assignment, the Pearl of Africa Cup in Uganda. Akif Raja, Matiullah Khan, and Zuhaib Zubair are out of the squad. Kaushik, a 28-year-old left-handed middle-order batsman who also bowls part-time left-arm spin, has yet to make his international debut, whilst the others have represented the UAE multiple times.

Siddique, 32, last played a T20I in December 2024 and has taken 96 and 76 wickets in 71 ODIs and 59 T20Is, respectively. He also competed in the ILT20 and Global T20 Canada. Farooq, a 32-year-old legspin all-rounder, has played eight T20Is and two ODIs to far. Jawadullah, a left-arm bowler, has played 33 T20Is and 12 ODIs to date.

Waseem, Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma, and Rahul Chopra round out the group with their expertise. They will be joined by the UAE’s finest batters from the Pearl of Africa Cup, Muhammad Zohaib and Saghir Khan.

Former Indian opening batter Lalchand Rajput is the head coach of UAE. The squad for the Asia Cup is yet to be announced, and is expected to be named soon. The final of the tri-series will be played on September 7, a couple of days before the commencement of the Asia Cup, where UAE are grouped in Group A along with India, Pakistan and Oman.