Four youngsters make UAE T20I squad for Afghanistan series

Dubai, 28 December 2023: Four promising youngster Dhruv Parashar, Omid Rahman, Tanish Suri and Samal Udawaththa have earned their spots in the 14-member UAE T20I squad for the three-match bilateral series against Afghanistan. The series begins tomorrow (Friday). All three matches will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. 

Parashar and Omid performed exceptionally well in UAE’s historic run to the final of the recently concluded ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup. Off-spinner Parashar who is also a handy batter took 10 wickets in the tournament while Omid took five wickets with his right-arm pace bowling. Wicketkeeper-Batter Tanish Suri scored 163 runs in his five ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup innings. 

Samal Udawaththa has made a mark in various domestic tournaments in recent months including the ILT20 Development Tournament – 111 runs in five innings.

This is the second bilateral series between the two sides in the UAE this year. The series is part of the Emirates Cricket Board’s long-term strategy of providing regular opportunities to UAE players of playing against ICC’s Full Members. 

The series would be broadcast live on RTA Sports – Afghanistan, Fancode – India, A Sports – Pakistan, Willow TV – USA and Sportseye on Facebook/YouTube – UAE and rest of the world. 

UAE squad for T20Is against Afghanistan: Muhammad Waseem (captain), Ali Naseer, Aayan Afzal Khan, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Khalid Shah, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Junaid Siddique, Nilansh Keswani, Omid Rahman, Raja Akifullah, Samal Udawaththa, Tanish Suri and Vriitya Aravind. 

UAE vs Afghanistan T20I series – Sharjah Cricket Stadium:

29 December – First T20I – 6:00pm 

31 December – Second T20I – 6:00pm

2 January – Third T20I – 6:00pm 

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