UAE coach Aaqib Javed is confident his team can qualify for next year’s World Twenty20 but has stressed the unpredictable UK climate conditions will provide a challenge for his players.
His team begin their bid to reach next year’s showpiece event with an opening match against Scotland in Edinburgh on Thursday. Drawn in Group B, the UAE will also face Afghanistan, the Netherlands, Canada, Kenya and Oman as they look to seal one of the top six spots in the 14-team qualifying event and book their ticket to India.
After playing on dry wickets in their World Cricket League and practice encounters in England, the UAE were faced with damp conditions in their final warm-up game against Nepal on Tuesday. Although they registered a 20-run Duckworth-Lewis victory where Manjula Guruge claimed three wickets, Javed feels the UK wickets are something his team will have to get used to.
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“In our match against Nepal, the pitch was damp and the ball was moving around a lot because of the weather. In the UK, the weather is quite unpredictable so we have to be prepared,” he said. “It’s really important for the batsmen to get used to the conditions which I think is tough for them and the bowlers must be a lot more disciplined when they bowl.”
Having qualified for the 2014 edition, Javed feels they can do it again given the number of T20 tournaments in the UAE.
“I think the T20 format favours the UAE a lot more than 50-overs because we have many T20 tournaments back home. So, it suits the players well and they’re used to it,” said the 1992 World Cup winner.
“But it’s just a slight advantage because the conditions will be completely different to what we face in the UAE.”
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All-rounder Rohan Mustafa has replaced injured Saqib Ali in the 15-man party, and with an experienced and well-balanced squad missing recently retired former captain Khurram Khan, Javed singled out opener Faizan Asif as the man the opposition should be wary of.
“He will be key for us. If he plays a big role with the bat, he can give us a good start and build towards a good total,” he said.
“Swapnil Patil and Shaiman Anwar are also there, while Abdul Shakoor and Umair Ali can be also devastating.
“In bowling we will be strongly depending on Mohammad Naveed and Manjula Guruge.”
On their rivals, he added: “Scotland will be dangerous and they might be under pressure since they’re playing at home, but we’ll play to our strengths and see how the game pans out.”
