T20 World Cup 2025/26, AFG vs UAE 28th Match, Group D Match Preview

Ravi Singh

4 hours ago

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Big picture – Slim hopes, high stakes

How do you lift yourself after a soul-crushing defeat? Because Afghanistan need to do exactly that after going down to South Africa in the double Super Over in Ahmedabad. It was their second defeat in as many games, and even though they are the favourites for their remaining two group games – against UAE and Canada – their T20 World Cup campaign is hanging by the thinnest thread of hope.

Afghanistan have an 11-3 win-loss record against UAE, their opponents for Monday’s day game in Delhi. But a New Zealand win over Canada the following day is enough to knock them out.

UAE must be feeling confident after their win over Canada. It came in Delhi, where they play their remaining two group games as well. But they too rely heavily on Canada beating New Zealand. If New Zealand beat Canada, which is more likely, UAE will have to pull off a series of miracles. They will have to beat Afghanistan and then South Africa, who have been unbeaten so far. And they will have to do so by such margins that their net run rate goes above New Zealand’s. That gap, at the moment, is huge.

So, how do Afghanistan and UAE proceed? Perhaps, as players often say, by taking one game at a time.

Afghanistan LLLWW (last five T20Is, most recent first)
UAE WLLLL

In the spotlight: Ibrahim Zadran and Sohaib Khan

Ibrahim Zadran is a perfect foil for the attacking Rahmanullah Gurbaz. While the role of the anchor in T20 cricket is diminishing every second, things are different at T20 World Cups. Moreover, Zadran has upped his intent of late. Two of his four 50-plus scores since October came at a strike rate of more than 150. However, he has managed only 22 runs off as many balls in two outings so far. Afghanistan expect much more from him.

Born in Bihar, graduated from Jamia Millia Islamia and now playing for UAE, Sohaib Khan showed against Canada how destructive he can be. His 29-ball 51, laden with four fours and four sixes, turned UAE’s fortunes around. But this was not the first time his hitting prowesses were on display. At the Rising Stars Asia Cup in November, he had smashed 63 off 41 balls against India A in Doha. In that game, he had taken 24 runs off eight balls against Suyash Sharma. Can he repeat those heroics on Monday?

Both teams are likely to go with unchanged XIs.

Afghanistan (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Gulbadin Naib, 4 Sediqullah Atal, 5 Darwish Rasooli, 6 Azmatullah Omarzai, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Rashid Khan (capt), 9 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi

UAE (probable): 1 Aryansh Sharma (wk), 2 Muhammad Waseem (capt), 3 Alishan Sharafu, 4 Mayank Kumar, 5 Harshit Kaushik, 6 Sohaib Khan, 7 Muhammad Arfan, 8 Muhammad Farooq, 9 Haider Ali, 10 Junaid Siddique, 11 Muhammad Jawadullah

It’s a day game. So the team winning the toss may want to bowl first to take advantage of the early moisture. The weather should be sunny, and the temperature is likely to hover around 25°C.

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