Star United Arab Emirates opener Muhammad Zohaib has been sent back home from Chennai over disciplinary issues, the Emirates Cricket Board announced on Monday, a day before their opening T20 World Cup game against New Zealand.
In a statement on Monday, the Emirates Cricket Board said that ‘further details will be shared in due course’.
On Tuesday, the UAE will take on New Zealand in Chennai for their first World Cup game since 2022. The absence of a key top-order batter adds pressure on a line-up that was bowled out for just 81 in their latest warm-up match against Italy on Friday.
Zohaib batted at No. 9 in that game, having earlier scored 19 off 26 deliveries at No. 3 against Nepal in the UAE’s previous warm-up. The team has now confirmed 21-year-old
Aryansh Sharma to open alongside captain Muhammad Waseem.
Zohaib made his UAE debut in May 2025 and has since played 16 T20Is, scoring 303 runs at an average of 20.2 with a strike rate of 103.76.
Ahead of the New Zealand match, Waseem spoke about the UAE’s preparation and team unity, highlighting that the team includes cricketers of both Indian and Pakistani origin.
Waseem added that the cricketers would draw confidence from the UAE’s T20I win against New Zealand in Dubai in 2023.
“Our strategy is very simple. We beat them before in the UAE, but this time it is a different venue, a different tournament, a different ground and a different game also. So we came up with another plan right now,” Waseem said in the pre-match press conference.
“There is no India-Pakistan. We are playing for the UAE and we are always treating ourselves like a family. We are living like a family, friends. We are spending time together, eating together,” Waseem added.
The Kiwis will be wary of underestimating the UAE, after fellow associate teams USA, Nepal and the Netherlands gave their fancied opponents a scare.
