The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), on Thursday, August 19, named CP Rizwan as the new UAE T20I skipper. The middle-order batter will take over from spinner Ahmed Raza, who will continue to lead the team in ODIs.
This announcement of captaincy change from ECB came in a press release following the side's Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series in Scotland, and ahead of the Asia Cup Qualifier in Oman.
"The committee believes, after extensive discussions, and following a detailed review of the side's recent 50-over performance, by providing the respective Captain's with a sole-format-focus it creates a strong leadership succession plan and encourages a singular commitment to fine-tuning strategic on-field components of the game," ECB said in an official statement.
"UAE's T20 game is in good standing and has exceptional depth. This strategy comes at the optimal time to assess what is best for this format moving into the (ICC T20) World Cup and beyond. UAE's High-Performance unit believes this presents a solid opportunity to consider and open up all options - player make-up and Captaincy - to take the game forward.
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Therefore, Ahmed Raza will continue as the UAE’s ODI (50-over format) Captain, where it is anticipated that, under his guidance and experience, UAE’s ODI performance will reap the benefits of his knowledge to create a winning culture, while C P Rizwaan has been named T20 Captain for the upcoming Asia Cup campaign," the statement further added.
Rizwan’s first assignment will be the Asia Cup 2022 qualifier which will be played from August 20-24 in Al Amerat.
UAE will compete against Hong Kong, Kuwait, and Singapore in their bid to secure the one-place available to compete in the Asia Cup 2022, which will be played in the UAE from August 27th through September 11th.
The team that secures this spot will be placed in Group A with powerhouses India and Pakistan.
UAE team for Asia Cup Qualifier:
CP Rizwan (capt), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, Vriitya Aravind, Ahmed Raza, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Zawar Farid, Alishan Sharafu, Sabir Ali, Aryan Lakra, Sultan Ahmad, Junaid Siddique, Fahad Nawaz.
(ANI inputs)
