The UAE has named its 17-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup starting September 9, with Muhammad Waseem as captain.
Asia Cup 2025 ,The team, currently competing in a T20I tri-series against Pakistan and Afghanistan, has retained all its players from the series while adding Matiullah Khan and Simranjeet Singh.
Matiullah, 32, returns after a brief career featuring just one ODI and five T20Is, his latest appearance coming against Nigeria in July during the Pearl of Africa Series. Simranjeet Singh, 35, also makes a comeback, last playing for the UAE in December 2024. He has represented the side in five ODIs and 11 T20Is.
This marks UAE’s first Asia Cup appearance since 2016, when the tournament was held in Bangladesh in the T20 format. Placed in Group A, UAE will begin their campaign against hosts India on September 10 in Dubai, with Pakistan and Oman completing the group. While UAE have never defeated India or Pakistan in T20Is, they hold five wins over Oman.
In their current tri-series, UAE have lost both games—scoring 176 in a 208-run chase against Pakistan and falling short by 38 runs against Afghanistan. Waseem’s men are set to face Pakistan again in Sharjah as they look to bounce back.
UAE squad for Asia Cup 2025:
Muhammad Waseem (capt), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma (wk), Asif Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Ethan D’Souza, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Matiullah Khan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra (wk), Rohid Khan, Simranjeet Singh, Saghir Khan.