UAE ready to play role of giantkillers at Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier

Captain Esha Oza says her improving side are capable of causing a few shocks in Abu Dhabi

UAE captain Esha Oza says the national team are ready to cause more upsets at the T20 World Cup Qualifier, building on their last-ball win over Zimbabwe two years ago. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Esha Oza, the UAE captain, says her side are ready to cause more upsets at the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in Abu Dhabi.

The 10-team competition will decide the final two teams for the main event, which will take place in Bangladesh in September and October.

The national team have yet to play at a World Cup at senior level. When they debuted at a global qualifier, which was also played in the capital back in 2022, they finished seventh.

That tournament was notable, though, for one significant scalp. The home team picked up a thrilling last-ball victory against Zimbabwe.

According to Oza, that win gave the national team the belief they can compete with leading sides, and that attitude has only been bolstered in the time since.

In the course of the past year, the UAE have twice beaten Thailand to continental titles. The Thais have been trailblazers in the women’s game for much of the past decade, particularly among non-Test nations.

“I think we definitely can,” Oza said when asked if her side can claim more notable victims at the Qualifier.

“This time we are coming off two wins against Thailand, and we had never done that before.

“Doing that twice in the space of six months shows we are taking steps ahead. Last time we beat Zimbabwe, and it means we can aim higher this time as well.

“We can aim for teams like Ireland and Scotland. If you do it only once, people can say it is a fluke, but it is not. We have done it twice, which shows it wasn’t, and that we have it in us.

“It is all about clicking at the right time. If we can do then, then the game will be ours.”

One significant difference between this tournament and the one two years ago is the fact Oza has now stepped up to the role of captain.

Chaya Mughal, the former incumbent, stepped down in November 2023 and took up a role in charge of development of the women’s game in the Emirates.

Mughal was a former schoolteacher in charge of a side that included a number of schoolgirls.

Oza says she has not tried to imitate her predecessor’s methods, but has been trying to maintain the upwards trajectory Mughal set the team on.

“I have tried not to change at all the way I am,” Oza, 26, said.

“I am still the same person. OK, so I am leading the team, but that doesn’t change who I am.

“Maybe I have a little more control over what is happening on the field, but that’s it. Off the field we are still the same we used to be as well.

“We have not changed things much. I am just trying to continue what Chaya had done before, but now our side is pretty young.

“There is a lot of energy in the team. The way we played our last qualifier, that really showed. The energy on the field was great, we played as a team, and it really worked for us.”