Ali Naseer leads UAE A in ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Sri Lanka

They face India, Pakistan and Nepal in Group B

Ali Naseer of UAE was one of the few bright spots in the team's disappointing showing at the Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe. Photo: ICC

Ali Naseer will lead the UAE A team in the 50-over Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams Asia Cup starting in Sri Lanka on Thursday.

Born in Karachi, Naseer has lived in Dubai since he was four and was one of the few shining lights during the team's disappointing Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe in June.

The allrounder made his debut in a seven-wicket defeat to West Indies at Sharjah on June 4 and grabbed the attention of selectors with a sparkling 58 off 52 balls. In nine ODI matches with the senior UAE team, Naseer averages 25 with the bat and has taken 10 wickets.

The UAE A squad is a virtual Under-23 side that includes promising youngsters Aryansh Sharma, Ethan D’Souza, Mohammad Jawadullah and Sanchit Sharma, who all featured alongside Naseer for the senior national team at the Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe.

The rest of the squad includes high performing youngsters who have impressed at domestic level. One of them, Jonathan Figy, returns to the national team setup after completing his degree in mathematics and statistics at Leeds University in the UK.

Figy, 21, holds the distinction as the only UAE player to score a century at the U19 World Cup, against Canada in 2020. He has played two ODI’s for the senior national team.

UAE are placed in Group B where they face India A, Pakistan A and Nepal. Group A consists of Sri Lanka A, Bangladesh A, Oman A and Afghanistan A.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.

UAE play their first match against India A on Friday, 14 July at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.

UAE A squad: Ali Naseer (capt), Adithya Shetty, Aryansh Sharma, Ansh Tandon, Ashwanth Valthapa, Ethan D’Souza, Fahad Nawaz, Jash Giyanani, Jonathan Figy, Lovepreet Singh, Matiullah, Mohammad Faraazuddin, Muhammad Jawadullah, Nilansh Keswani and Sanchit Sharma.

UAE A matches:

July 14 – India A vs UAE A

July 17 – Pakistan A vs UAE A

July 19 – Nepal vs UAE A

July 21 – Semi-finals

July 23– Final