The United Arab Emirates (UAE) have given themselves every opportunity possible to compete and do well. They have played multiple T20 World Cups, and their domestic structures are among the best in the associate world.
Added to that, they have the International League T20 (ILT20) for a few seasons now, giving their local players to run shoulders with some of the best in the world and allowing the national team to identify talents who could represent the country in the long run.
Moreover, in order not to let talented cricketers, regardless of nationality and residency, get away, the UAE have also started issuing passports to those who they believe will make the country proud. Most recently, Akshdeep Nath and Harpreet Singh Bhatia made their UAE debuts because of such a move.
With an excellent system in place, the UAE now march ahead to their next goal: Making it to the ODI World Cup in 2027. However, as things stand, it’s looking bleak at the moment. They are currently at the bottom of the ICC CWC League 2 points table with five wins in 20 matches, and as a result, their upcoming tri-series against Nepal and Oman becomes extremely vital.
Since Lalchand Rajput’s appointment as UAE’s head coach, they have done well in the T20 format, but have slipped up quite badly in ODIs. UAE have won just five out of 20 ODIs under Rajput, which is a major reason behind the team’s current situation. In fact, only England (17) have lot more matches than UAE (15) in this period. However, in T20Is, they have fared much better, winning 33 out of their 56 matches, including beating Canada at the T20 World Cup in Delhi.
Why have UAE struggled in League 2?
UAE have not fared well in League 2 consistently. In the last cycle (2019-23) they finished sixth among seven teams and are at the bottom of this cycle too.
One of the main reasons behind that is their poor batting. Since Rajput took over as head coach, UAE’s average (19.87) is the lowest among all ODI teams. To add to their woes, they have scored at a run-rate of just 4.1 in this period. Only Oman (4) have scored at a lower run-rate.
Their bowling has not been great either. Under Rajput, their bowling unit has been the worst among all eight League 2 teams, picking up a wicket every 38.03 runs and 45.7 deliveries apart.
How important is the upcoming series for UAE?
The four matches in Nepal, starting April 25 (Saturday), are very important. Their bowlers like Junaid Siddique, Mumahhad Jawadullah, Ali Naseer, Aayan Khan and others have the skills and talent to get the job done. In Nepal, toss becomes crucial. If UAE can win the toss and bowl first, their quicks can certainly do a bit of damage as there will be a bit of nip in the air due to a morning start, allowing the quicks to swing the ball a fair bit.
However, if UAE fail to strike early, the surface will become flat with the sun beating down. That may not bode well for the UAE, who may be chasing a massive total. Given their current batting form in the format, it may not end well for them.
4 wins out of 4 on this tour would give them a launch pad from where they can potentially think of finishing in the top four and make a direct entry into the World Cup qualifiers. However, every loss from here will hurt them badly and their chance of progressing will take a massive hit.
While UAE have reached the T20 World Cup on multiple occasions, their biggest challenge would certainly be to be in a position to make the ODI World Cup – a tournament they have not been a part of since 2015. This will indeed be Rajput’s biggest challenge.
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