UAE eye World Twenty20 qualification

Dubai: Skipper Mohammad Tauqir feels the UAE’s squad for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015, which was announced on Wednesday, is a balanced one.

The UAE selection committee picked a 15-member squad for the event, which is to be staged in Ireland and Scotland from July 9 to 26, after an intense training camp at the ICC Cricket Academy here.

Speaking to Gulf News, Tauqir said: “We have got a very good, balanced side. It has a mix of experience and youth and hence will be ideal for the challenge of qualifying for the Twenty20 World Cup again.”

Fourteen teams will contest the qualifier. The top six sides from the 18-day tournament will qualify to play the ten full members in next year’s ICC World Twenty20 in India from March 11 to April 3.

Saqib Ali, one of the UAE’s most experienced batsmen and a former captain, has returned to the Twenty20 squad.

“Saqib’s return is a big boost. He has loads of experience and his presence will add value to the team,” said Tauqir, who led the UAE in the 50-over World Cup in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year.

Tauqir is also expecting some new faces to perform well. “Umair Ali is a very promising youngster, he has been a Twenty20 specialist in domestic cricket. Abdul Shakoor and Faizan Asif are also Twenty20 specialists. With all-rounder Mohammad Shahzad also in the squad, we have a team that can adapt to the conditions and win matches,” Tauqir said.

The UAE qualified for the last Twenty20 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2014.