The United Arab Emirates have announced their 15-member squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, with Muhammad Waseem named as captain for the upcoming global tournament, which is set to begin next month in India and Sri Lanka. The announcement was made by the Emirates Cricket Board on Friday, according to the ICC.

UAE qualified for the expanded 20-team tournament after defeating Japan in the Super Six stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia and East Asia-Pacific Qualifier, which was held in Oman last year. This qualification marked a significant milestone for the side as they continue to establish themselves on the international stage.

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Former India head coach Lalchand Rajput, who guided India to victory in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, will lead the UAE as head coach for the tournament. He will be assisted by former Pakistan international Yasir Arafat, who has been appointed as fast bowling coach, while Zimbabwe’s Stanley Chioza will serve as the fielding coach during the World Cup.

The UAE have previously featured in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on two occasions, in 2014 and 2022, but were unable to progress beyond the group stage in either edition. Ahead of their 2026 campaign, the team will play a two-match T20I series against Ireland and will also take part in warm-up matches against Nepal on February 3 and Italy on February 6.

Placed in Group D, the UAE will face a challenging set of opponents including Canada, Afghanistan, former champions New Zealand and last edition’s finalists South Africa. Their tournament opener is scheduled against New Zealand on February 10 in Chennai, after which the squad will travel to Delhi for their remaining three group matches. UAE will play Canada on February 13, Afghanistan on February 16 and South Africa on February 18, with the Super Eights stage of the tournament set to begin on February 21.

The selected squad includes three players who were part of the UAE team at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. Along with captain Muhammad Waseem, Alishan Sharafu and Junaid Siddique were part of that campaign. Waseem has led the UAE for the past three years and has captained the side in 66 of his 92 international matches, providing stability and leadership to a squad that blends experienced players with emerging talent.

The UAE squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 comprises Muhammad Waseem (captain), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma, 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.

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