Asia Cup 2025: UAE Skipper Muhammad Waseem Downplays Clash Against India, Emphasizes Strategic Approach

UAE captain Muhammad Waseem isn't dwelling on the narrative of their Asia Cup campaign opener against India being a showpiece clash. They aim to keep things simple, stick to their plan, and cash in when they feel the moment is right. 

The UAE is making steady inroads to become one of the top sides in Asia, much like Afghanistan, which has earned a reputation as one of the bigwigs in the subcontinent, capable of challenging the best. Their recent surge resonates in their stellar run to qualify for the T20 World Cup in 2022. The UAE is striving to draw upon its experiences and take the necessary steps to start its campaign with flying colours. 

"We will not take it as a big match because all the teams are good in front of you, so all the matches will be the same. We are working hard in the heat, and we will only follow our plan. Whatever we have learned and whatever we need to do on that day, we will do it. Rest, the result is up to the game," Waseem told ANI. 

UAE's plan against Team India

Waseem isn't a big fan of the idea of identifying a single individual who poses a threat and then devising a plan to contain the specific player. The UAE skipper revealed that they have engineered a plan to curtail their freedom and not play to their strengths. 

"No, we have not made any individual plan for any particular player. We have created a plan for 6-7 batters for the whole team. We will not give their strength to the strength. We will play carefully with their wicket-taker bowler, and whoever we can charge, we have made such a plan. If the unit is more, the role of the spinners can increase," he added. 

Waseem on dew factor

India has plenty of talented spinners in its pool, including Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, and Axar Patel. Waseem believes that if the dew factor comes into play, it would be easy to negate the threat posed by the ball tweakers. Considering the fixture will be played on their home soil, he is looking to exploit home familiarity. 

"Whenever there is dew, I think the spinner's ball doesn't turn much. But it depends on the weather tomorrow and the conditions. And as I have told you, whatever we have learned. Yes, you are right that we play a lot of cricket here. We can also say that India and Pakistan play a lot of cricket here. But it is our home. So we will try our best to take advantage of and play good cricket," he concluded. 

India squad for Asia Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

UAE squad for Asia Cup: Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma, Asif Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Ethan D'Souza, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Matiullah Khan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra, Rohid Khan, Simranjeet Singh, Saghir Khan.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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