Ahead of their opener against the Netherlands on Monday, Paul Radley profiles each of the 15 players who will be representing the UAE national cricket team at the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.
Updated: March 16, 2014, 12:00 AM
In pictures: Meet the players of the UAE national cricket team
Amjad Ali is unlikely to be cowed by the prospect of playing in front of a live TV audience given how successful the United Bank Limited batsman was the last time the UAE did so. Playing in his native Lahore in the 2008 Asia Cup, the wristy left-handed opener struck a breezy 77 against a Sri Lanka attack including Nuwan Kulasekara and Ajantha Mendis. Pawan Singh / The National
Vikrant Shetty is a former teammate of future India internationals Robin Uthappa and Stuart Binny while playing junior state cricket growing up in India. Quirkily, he was also once a 12th man for New Zealand. The Black Caps were struck by an injury crisis in their limited-overs series here against Pakistan in 2009 and made an urgent call for talented local fielders to help out. Pawan Singh / The National
Moaaz Qazi is an all-rounder deferred his application to study in Canada after he was called into the UAE’s squads for the Under-19 World Cup last month, as well as the senior World T20 campaign. The chunky Abu Dhabi-raised student is untested at this level but he is unconcerned. Satish Kumar / The National
Sharif Asadullah is the Eurocon pace bowler who has replaced Mohammed Naveed from the four-man pace attack that served the UAE so well in New Zealand. The Ajman resident is highly-regarded by Aaqib, the national team coach, as he was by his predecessor Kabir Khan, who gave Asadullah his debut after a nationwide hunt for pace bowlers in 2011. Pal Pillai / Getty Images
Kamran Shahzad is a powerful fast bowler with a slingy action who earns regular praise from someone who knows a thing or two about pace bowling – the UAE coach Aaqib Javed. The former Pakistan Test seamer said he believes Kamran is the fastest bowler from outside the Test nations. Pawan Singh / The National
Faizan Asif, the burly opener, is one of several players who are having to take their annual leave from work to play in this competition, missing time from his job in sales at Emirates Islamic bank. The archetypal pinch-hitter, Faizan is a Twenty20 specialist for the UAE and he showed decent form in last week’s warm-up win against Hong Kong in Sharjah. Pawan Singh / The National
Ahmed Raza, the left-arm spinner who is the heir to Khurram’s captaincy, was born in Sharjah, has lived all his life in the UAE and has played all his cricket for the UAE, too. Pawan Singh / The National
Swapnil Patil, the Mumbai-born wicketkeeper, has been a mainstay of the batting line up for some time, where his style is steady rather than spectacular. Moving to Dubai after landing a job with Yogi Group, after going to support his cousin at an interview, he became a star of the staff cricket team and was capped by the UAE as soon as he became eligible four years later. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National
Rohan Mustafa, the fittest player in the side, is going on their regular beep test results. Mustafa is a genuine all-rounder. He is the most athletic fielder, a key batsman, a canny off-spinner and he recently started bowling seamers, too – to good effect. Satish Kumar / The National
Shadeep Silva is one of the longest-serving players in the side, the reliable spinner has a variety of top-level experience, initially via the first-class game in his native Sri Lanka. He has a lone full one-day international cap, having played for the UAE against Bangladesh at the 2008 Asia Cup in Pakistan. Satish Kumar / The National
A master of the sport from beyond the Test world, Khurram Khan is finally getting the rewards his career so richly merits. Simply put, Khurram is the best cricketer ever to have worn the grey of the UAE national team. He is nearly 43 and scored a tournament record 581 runs when the national team qualified for next year’s World Cup via a tournament in New Zealand in January. He has been at the forefront of the side for the past 11 years, even though for most of that time his day job with Emirates Airline has meant he has traversed the globe on a weekly basis. Satish Kumar / The National
Rohit Singh has the enviable task of dovetailing first-year studies for his mechanical engineering degree at Heriot Watt University in Dubai with playing in two World Cups. The captain of the UAE Under 19s at last month’s age-group competition, he has been handed a coveted chance to play in Bangladesh with the senior T20 side. Stanley Chou/Getty Images
Shaiman Anwar is known domestically as “Sixer Shaiman” for his ability to clear the ropes, the pocket powerhouse is one of the team’s most productive batsmen. His worth to the side was shown most graphically over the past year when he scored 317 in four matches at the ACC Emerging Nations Cup in Singapore last summer. Antonie Robertson/The National
Manjula Guruge is canny left-arm seamer in the style of Chaminda Vaas, Guruge has become an essential cog in the UAE’s pace battery. The Sri Lankan storekeeper regularly takes a public bus from his home in Abu Dhabi to get to training and matches in Dubai and Sharjah. Satish Kumar / The National