Dubai: Alishan Sharafu will lead the UAE under-19 team as the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) has on Tuesday confirmed the team to represent the country in the upcoming ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, to be played in the West Indies from January 14 to February 5.
“This is, indeed, a milestone in the history of UAE Cricket.” said Dr Tayeb Kamali, Selection Committee Chairman, Emirates Cricket. “Our (representative) teams confidently step onto the world-cricket stage and compete with the best. To represent the UAE and wear the flag of the nation is a great honour, and one we know each player will bear with immense pride and respect. We wish them a very enjoyable, rewarding tour.”
It will be quite a challenge for the UAE U19 team, which failed to win a single league game in the recently concluded Asia Cup in Dubai, where they lost to India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Squad: Alishan Sharafu (C), Kai Smith, Dhruv Parashar, Punya Mehra, Ronak Panoly, Ali Aamer Naseer, Adithya Shetty, Soorya Sathishteam, Sailles Jaishankar, Vinayak Vijaya Raghavan, Aayan Khan, Aryansh Sharma, Jash Giyanani, Shival Bawa, Nilansh Keswani.
Drawn into Group A, UAE’s schedule is;
January Saturday 15: vs Canada U19
January Thursday 20: vs England U19
January Saturday 2: vs Bangladesh U19
