Team UAE prepare for the Rashid Khan challenge in Intercontinental Cup

Team UAE is all set to take on Afghanistan in their upcoming Intercontinental Cup clash. Both the teams are considered to be the strongest units in the competition thus far. The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) recently announced the UAE squad for the all important clash. Ahead of match, the skipper of the team, Rohan Mustafa, has admitted that playing against Afghanistan will be a tough ask.

One player who the team is looking up to having a good contest against is the star Afghanistan leggie Rashid Khan. Rashid has made giant strides in world cricket and is one of the most sought after properties in the T20 leagues across the globe. The team is taking pride from their recent 5-0 whitewash win against Zimbabwe A side and hope to replicate the same in the match against Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan is a strong side but we believe that the only difference will be their star bowler Rashid Khan. We have played them before and hope to produce a good show,” quoted Rohan Mustafa as per the quotes in the Gulf News.

“We are now playing like a unit and we no longer depend on one player to perform and help us win. Everyone is contributing to the team in different roles and that is the reason behind our recent victories,” added Mustafa.

ECB confident of a good show

Meanwhile, the officials of the ECB are also confident that UAE will put on a good contest in the match. One of the officials conceded that the players have identified their roles in the team and know their responsibilities more than ever before. He wants the team to finish on a high in the competition. This will be their last match in the tournament this season.

“Our 2015 — 2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup campaign has provided us with varied fortunes and results. Throughout our campaign we have been very encouraged with our players’ attitude and have thoroughly enjoyed watching them develop their skills and fitness. This is our final match in the tournament’s series and we will aim to post a strong result against Afghanistan,” quoted Zayed Abbas, ECB spokesperson.

“Our coaching staff, as well as the players have identified areas they can still improve on, so we look forward to this weekend’s preparation match (against Ireland) to fine-tune and hone these specific areas ahead of our final Intercontinental Cup match,” he added.

UAE Squad:

Rohan Mustafa, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammad Usman, Adnan Mufti, Saqlain Haider, Ahmed Raza. Mohammad Naveed, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammad Boota, Amir Hayat and Ashfaq Ahmed.