Asia Cup 2025: UAE name strong 17-member squad

The United Arab Emirates have announced their squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, which they will be playing at home. The UAE have named Muhammad Waseem as their captain for the eight-team tournament that will commence on Tuesday, September 9. Their 17-member squad also features the likes of Ethan D'Souza, Aryansh Sharma, Simranjeet Singh and Dhruv Parashar as a few notable inclusions.

Although the UAE does not hold the hosting rights, the side will be playing the continental tournament at home, as the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chose Dubai and Abu Dhabi as the two neutral venues to host the marquee 20-overs-a-side event. They will be playing their opening encounter of the series against India on September 10 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Apart from India, they will face teams like Oman (on September 15 at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi) and Pakistan (on September 17 in Dubai) in the Group A fixtures for the Asian competition. If they manage to finish in the top two of the group stage, they will be eligible to participate in the Super Fours as well, finishing in the top two of which will hand them an opportunity to play the summit clash on September 28.

Meanwhile, former cricketer Lalchand Rajput, who was the head coach of the triumphant Indian team during the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, will be coaching the UAE side as well after having recently joined the position.

UAE squad for Asia Cup 2025:

Muhammad Waseem (captain), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Asif Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Ethan D’ Souza, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Matiullah Khan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra (wicketkeeper), Rohid Khan, Simranjeet Singh and Saghir Khan.

Support Staff: Amjad Ezzi (team manager), Lalchand Rajput (head coach), Azharuddin Qureshi (strength and conditioning coach), Manipreet Sidhu (video analyst), Naveed Ahmad (fielding coach), Darshan Singh (Side-Armer) and Manish Pradeshi (physiotherapist). 

UAE schedule for Asia Cup 2025: