Junaid Siddique comes back as UAE ring in the changes for T20 tri-series
Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Farooq and Muhammad Jawadullah are the others to have come into the side for the T20Is against Afghanistan and Pakistan
ESPNcricinfo staff
27-Aug-2025 • 3 hrs ago
Junaid Siddique is among the familiar faces to have come back • ICC/Getty Images
Muhammad Waseem will lead UAE at the upcoming triangular T20I series against Afghanistan and Pakistan at home in Sharjah from August 29 to September 7, which will be followed by the men's T20 Asia Cup from September 9, also in the UAE.
The squad of 15 - up from the 14 that played in UAE's last engagement, the Pearl of Africa Cup in Entebbe, Uganda, where they lost the final to the hosts - has four new faces: Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq and Muhammad Jawadullah. Out from the Pearl of Africa squad are Akif Raja, Matiullah Khan and Zuhaib Zubair.
Kaushik is a 28-year-old left-hand middle-order batter who bowls part-time left-arm spin, and hasn't made his international debut yet, while the other three have all played for UAE in the past.
Siddique, the 32-year-old medium pacer, has played 59 ODIs and 71 T20Is, picking up 76 and 96 wickets in the two formats respectively, and has also turned out in the ILT20 and Global T20 Canada among other leagues. Left-arm quick Jawadullah, 26, has played 12 ODIs (11 wickets) and 33 T20Is (54 wickets) and Farooq, the 32-year-old legspin-bowling allrounder, has picked up nine wickets in eight T20Is to go with two wicketless outings in ODIs.
The rest of the squad wears a familiar look, with the experience of Waseem, Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma and Rahul Chopra complemented by the likes of Muhammad Zohaib, UAE's best batter at the Pearl of Africa Cup, and Saghir Khan.
UAE, coached by former India opening batter Lalchand Rajput, will play their first match of the tri-series against Pakistan on August 30, followed by games against Afghanistan (September 1), Pakistan (September 4) and Afghanistan (September 5). The final is slotted for September 7, just two days before the opening game of the Asia Cup, where UAE are grouped with India, Oman and Pakistan. The squad for that tournament will be announced soon.