UAE face New Zealand in T20 cricket for first time

United Arab Emirates (UAE) will play a three-match T20 International series beginning Thursday (August 17, 2023).

All the three matches will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (formerly Dubai Sports City). After the first match on August 17, the second will be played on August 19 and the third on August 20.

This will be the first time that UAE will play against New Zealand in T20 cricket. The two have played an ODI before – in the 1996 Wills World Cup which the Kiwis won by 109 runs.

Pace bowler Tim Southee will lead New Zealand which is missing some key players busy in The Hundred tournament in England. The 29-year-old opening batsman Mohammed Waseem will lead UAE.

The series is important for New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson, who is returning from back surgery. This will be his first international in over a year. He last played for New Zealand in June 2022.

For UAE, 33-year-old batsman Asif Khan will be the one to watch out for. He is likely to make his T20I debut. He has scored two quickfire centuries in ODIs this year, against USA and Nepal. The one against Nepal, 45-ball 101 not out is the fastest by an Associate nation player.

UAE recently lost an ODI series to West Indies 0-3 but were praised for putting up a fighting show.

 Squads

New Zealand: Tim Southee (Captain), Chad Bowes, Dane Cleaver (wicketkeeper/batsman), Tim Seifert (wicketkeeper/batsman), Will Young, Mark Chapman, Dean Foxcroft, Cole McConchie, James Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Jacob Duffy, Kyle Jamieson, Ben Lister, Adithya Ashok.

United Arab Emirates: Muhammad Waseem (Captain), Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Ethan D’Souza, Lovepreet singh, Aryansh Sharma, Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Mohammed Faraazuddin, Jash Giyanani, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Jawadullah, Sanchit Sharma, Zahoor Khan.

Cricket, UAE, ICC, New Zealand, Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson, Asif Khan