The 27-year-old was appointed skipper in November but paid the price for poor results after registering one victory in seven games, including home series defeats to Netherlands and Hong Kong.
Twenty20 captain Amjad Javed, who impressed in his role since taking the reins in the shortest format, will now lead the side for their Scotland tour – which gets under way next Tuesday with a four-day Intercontinental Cup followed by two ODIs on August 12 and 14.
But Raza has no complaints about losing the armband, especia-lly after the team’s fortunes were turned around under Javed. He led the team to victories over Ireland and Scotland before beating Oman, Afghanistan and Hong Kong to seal the only berth to qualify for the Asia Cup in February.
“Losing the captaincy can be very disappointing but at the same time if you’re not focused, it can affect your own performances,” he said.
“I played under Amjad in the Asia Cup and I did very well. Whether I’m there as a player or a captain, I have to do my best and that’s what I’ll be doing here for this tour.
“Amjad has my full support and I share a very good relationship with him. You don’t get that chance to lead the side often but as a senior player, I have a responsibility to do well and win games for the UAE.”
Having described leading the UAE as an “honour”, Raza hopes it isn’t the last time. But his mind now is purely focused on the present.
He said: “I’m not thinking about winning back the captaincy now. I do not know how the ECB selectors will think in the future. It’s up to them if they want to give me the captaincy again.
“If I do it again, I will try to get good results as our results were not great, even though we had a lot of debutants and were in the rebuilding phase.
“But to be honest I am not really thinking about the future and only looking at the present. I am just thinking about my bowling and to perform well in the games.”
Breaking: Cricket Scotland announce change of venue for @ICC I-Cup and WCL matches against UAE in August https://t.co/6KkZZINugt
— Cricket Scotland (@CricketScotland) August 2, 2016
He will be looking to do the damage with the ball in front of interim head coach Paul Franks, who has stepped into Aaqib Javed’s shoes for this tour after the former Pakistan bowler ended his four-year stint in May.
Ex-England international Franks is no stranger to the UAE players, having been Aaqib’s assistant at the 2015 World Cup and the Asia Cup.
And Raza has spoken highly of the 37-year-old after being reunited at a training camp in Hampshire, England this week.
“We know him well and he knows our culture,” he said. “He knows what kind of cricket we play which is very important. He keeps things very simple and is very helpful.”
