Dubai: Opener Aryan Lakra, who returned to the UAE Twenty20 team after eight months in wilderness in December, will be eager to cement his place after being named as part of the 15-member squad for the three match Twenty20 internationals against Scotland in Dubai, which begins on Monday.
The 22-year-old was dropped after two half-centuries in his nine matches last year. Undeterred, the all-rounder worked hard on improving his game and when the opportunity came on Sunday, he made it count with an unbeaten 63 in the second Twenty20 International against Afghanistan on December 31, 2023 to end the year on a high.
However, Lakra has not been able to extend that form in the DP World ILT20 Season 2 for Desert Vipers in the limited opportunity that came his way. However, the opener must be banking on the hard work he had put in, which refelected in his domestic performance. UAE are a formidable force in the Twenty20 format with prolific opener and skipper Muhammad Waseem leading from the front.
Mix of youth and experience
Once again the team is a mix of youth and experience and some of the top performers of the ILT20 have found their places in the squad to face Scotland.
The first match at Dubai International Stadium starts at 7.30pm today, while the second match will be played on Wednesday with the third and final game set to take place on Thursday.
UAE squad: Muhammad Waseem (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Aryan Lakra, Ashwant Valthapa, Basil Hameed, Hazrat Luqman, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Zohaib, Nilansh Keswani, Omid Rahman, Rahul Chopra, Raja Akifullah, Tanish Suri and Vriitya Aravind.
Support staff: Amjad Izzi (Manager), Lalchand Rajput (Head Coach), Ahmed Raza (Assistant coach), Azharuddin Qureshi (Trainer), Karthikeyan Rathinam(Analyst), Manish Pardeshi(Physiotherapist).
Broadcast details: Fancode - India, Sports eye - Facebook and YouTube (rest of the world).
