Dubai: The UAE team, which recorded a clean sweep over Canada in the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cricket League and in the two Twenty20 matches during the tour of Canada last week, has arrived in Singapore to take part in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Emerging Cup.
They will take on hosts Singapore in their opening match on Monday.
Speaking to Gulf News, Ahmad Raza, the skipper of the UAE team, said: “We as a team are in good shape as we have done well in Canada and it will be great if we can do well against the strong opponents in this tournament.”
Raza had led from the front, taking three wickets for just 11 runs to bowl Canada out for 85 in the first Twenty20 match to put the UAE on a winning run. The team includes Shaiman Anwar, Swapnil Patil and Rohan Mustafa, who all batted brilliantly during the Canada tour, besides spinners Nasir Aziz and Shadeep Silva, who also excelled on the tour.
UAE qualified to play in this tournament after winning the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Trophy. Based on the rankings in the event, Nepal and Afghanistan also qualified along with hosts Singapore to play against under-23 teams from the four Test-playing nations, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The UAE are in group B along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh’s Under-23 teams. The India and Pakistan Under-23 teams are in Group A. Pakistan are being led by rising star Hammad Azam, while Suryakumar Yadav is captain of the India squad, which includes Unmukt Chand and B. Aparajit, who sparkled in the Under-19 World Cup last year.
