Muhammad Waseem To Lead UAE 15-Member Squad At 2026 ICC T20 World Cup

UAE’s star batter Muhammad Waseem will lead the 15-member squad in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, starting on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.

UAE secured their spot in the 20-team tournament by defeating Japan in the Super Six stage of the Asia & East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in Oman last year. The team has previously participated in the event in 2014 and 2022, exiting at the group stage both times.

The UAE has previously participated in the T20 World Cup twice, finishing at the group stage in both 2014 and 2022. Ahead of their World Cup campaign, they will face Ireland in a two-match T20I series and play warm-up matches against Nepal on February 3 and Italy on February 6.

The team is drawn in Group D alongside Canada, Afghanistan, former champions

New Zealand, and last year’s finalists South Africa, with their tournament opener against New Zealand scheduled for February 10 in Chennai. The squad will then travel to Delhi to play their remaining three Group D matches. The UAE will face Canada on February 13 and Afghanistan on February 16. Their final Group D match is against South Africa, scheduled for February 18. The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eights stage will commence on February 21.

The squad includes three players from UAE’s last T20 World Cup appearance in Australia in 2022 – Waseem, Alishan Sharafu, and Junaid Siddique. Waseem, who has captained the team for the past three years, has led UAE in 66 of his 92 international matches.

The support staff, led by head coach and ex-India player Lalchand Rajput, includes former Pakistan pacer Yasir Arafat as the fast bowling coach, and Zimbabwe’s Stanley Chioza as the fielding coach.

Arafat, who played 27 international games for Pakistan across all formats, has coached several national teams and franchises. He will be with the UAE squad during the Ireland series and the subsequent T20 World Cup.

UAE Squad For ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026:

Muhammad Waseem (captain), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Mayank Kumar, Muhammad Arfan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rohid Khan, Sohaib Khan and Simranjeet Singh.

(With inputs from Agencies)