ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s captain, Salman Ali Agha, won the toss and opted to bat first against the United Arab Emirates at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Agha announced that Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf have been rested after their vital contributions in Pakistan’s win over Afghanistan the previous day.
Both teams have met in T20I fixture only once. The first and last time these teams faced off in the T20 format was during the 2016 Asia Cup, where Pakistan secured a comfortable 7-wicket victory.
For the UAE, this game is an opportunity to prove itself against top-tier competition. Led by Muhammad Waseem, the hosts will rely on a mix of youth and experience, with rising stars like Aryansh Sharma and Alishan Sharafu expected to shine. The return of fast bowler Junaid Siddique and the debut of all-rounder Harshit Kaushik add excitement to their squad. UAE, despite recent narrow losses to Uganda, has shown promise with victories over Kenya and Nigeria, and will be hoping its home advantage helps it compete on even terms with Pakistan.
Both teams are eager to adapt to the turning Sharjah pitch, with Pakistan’s strong recent form contrasting UAE’s mixed results.
Pakistan’s XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha (c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Salman Mirza, Sufiyan Muqeem
UAE’s XI: Muhammad Zohaib, Muhammad Waseem (c), Asif Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Rahul Chopra (wk), Ethan D’Souza, Dhruv Parashar, Saghir Khan, Haider Ali, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Jawadullah
