Pakistan, Afghanistan, and United Arab Emirates are set to face each other in a tri-nation series starting from 29th August at Sharjah. This series serves as a preparatory series ahead of the all important Asia Cup. The Asia Cup will begin from 9th September
All of the teams have announced their squad for the series and the first game will be played between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Each of the three teams views the event, which is spread across six league games and a final on September 7, as the perfect training ground for the forthcoming continental championship.
There is nothing more important in the timing. The series gives Pakistan’s management a final opportunity to test lineups, assess form, and provide squad members with competitive opportunities, given the Asia Cup is just a few days away. A diverse challenge is guaranteed when facing the UAE, who are still fighting for more international recognition, and Afghanistan, a true T20 powerhouse.
The tri-series teams for each of the three teams have been announced. The UAE and Afghanistan will make changes, but Pakistan will enter the Asia Cup with the same squad. Afghanistan has excluded Naveen-ul-Haq in favor of Abdollah Ahmadzai for this competition, while the hosts have not yet announced their Asia Cup lineup.
Squads:
Pakistan:
Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufyan Moqim.
Afghanistan:
Rashid Khan (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mohammad Ishaq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fareed Ahmad, Abdollah Ahmadzai, Fazalhaq Farooqi
UAE:
Muhammad Waseem (captain), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma (wicket keeper), Asif Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Ethan D’Souza, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra (wicket keeper), Rohid Khan, Saghir Khan.
Tri-series schedule (all matches at Sharjah Cricket Stadium):
29 August – Afghanistan v Pakistan – 7pm local time
30 August – UAE v Pakistan – 7pm local time
1 September – UAE v Afghanistan – 7pm local time
2 September – Pakistan v Afghanistan – 7pm local time
4 September – Pakistan v UAE – 7pm local time
5 September – Afghanistan v UAE – 7pm local time
7 September – Final – 7pm local time
Head-to-head:
Pakistan vs Afghanistan:
Pakistan and Afghanistan will face off in a T20I for the first time since October 2023. All in all, Pakistan and Afghanistan have faced each other in seven games in total with the former winning 4 while latter getting success in 3.
Pakistan vs UAE:
Pakistan and UAE have only met once in an international T20 game with the Green Shirt earning an easy 7-wicket win.
Afghanistan vs UAE:
Both of the sides have faced each other in 13 games thus far with Afghanistan winning 10 and UAE standing victorious in 3.
Where to watch:
MENA – Cricbuzz and Sportainment
Pakistan – A-Sports, Ten Sports and Tamasha.
Afghanistan – Lemar.tv
Bangladesh – tapmad and TSports
India – Fancode and Euro Sport
North America – Willow
UK – ARY
Africa – Supersports
RoW – Sports Central
