UAE coach Aaqib Javed will ring the changes as his side look to register their first win of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Premier League against Hong Kong.
Having lost to Nepal (by four wickets) and Afghanistan (by 70 runs), Javed admits his team have been disappointing in the 50-over competition – especially in the fielding department where they have dropped 10 catches in two matches.
“Against Hong Kong we will have to play to our potential and can definitely trouble them,” said the 41-year-old ahead of the match in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“I believe we can still improve but we have to be careful because we have to win three or four matches. We will make one or two changes for the game.”
Like the UAE, Hong Kong are winless in the six-team competition after defeats to Oman (by nine runs) and Afghanistan (by six wickets).
But Javed has acknowledged the threat posed by Hong Kong, who recently beat hosts Bangladesh at the World Twenty20 in March.
“Hong Kong are a decent team. Since the last six months they’ve been doing well,” he said. “They did well to qualify for the World Twenty20 and came third in the 50-over World Cup qualification in New Zealand.
"They have good players and skills wise they are very good. Irfan (Ahmed) is the kind of batsman who can excel well individually. They are a very good, balanced side so I think if we want to beat Hong Kong then we have to have a good day and have to bat well and improve our performances.”
Despite being critical of his team’s fielding, Javed is pleased with the batting line-up led by captain Khurram Khan.
“We have three good batsmen – Khurram (Khan), Swapnil (Patil) and Shaiman (Ali). In 50-over games, you have to have some good batsmen and I think we have a decent batting line-up for this competition."
