UAE announce squad for T20 World Cup 2022, star player Rohan Mustafa not included

United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced their squad for the upcoming 2022 T20 World Cup on Saturday (September 17). The biggest news for the fans is the absence of veteran cricketer Rohan Mustafa from the 15-member squad. CP Rizwan will be leading the squad in Australia with Vrittya Aravind set to be the vice-captain. 

Mustafa has scored 984 runs in 55 T20I matches at an average of 20.93 and a strike rate of 121.33. Rohan has grabbed 61 wickets in 53 T20I innings at an average of 19.96 and an impressive economy rate of 6.86 so far. He remains UAE's most-capped player, leading run-scorer, and wicket-taker in T20I format and his absence from the squad will be a major talking point for the fans.

UAE face a tough challenge in Group B:

Rohan was part of UAE's Asia Cup Qualifiers but made only one appearance in last three matches. The Selection Committee Chairman of Emirates Cricket, Tayeb Kamali, stated that qualifying for the 2022 T20 World Cup is a big achievement for the nation and they are looking to make their mark in the tournament.

"Qualifying to play against top national teams of the world at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup marks a milestone with UAE Cricket’s growing strengths in the T20 format. We extend our deep appreciation to all who have invested their time and efforts as we arrive at this unique moment in Emirates Cricket’s history. We wish our team the very best as they continue to make their mark on international cricket at the ICC T20 World Cup," Tayeb Kamali said in an official statement.

UAE will be facing Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka, Netherlands, and Namibia in the Group B fixtures starting on October 16. Sri Lanka are clear favorites to top the group and progress to the Super 12 but UAE have to surpass the Netherlands test to finish the group stages in top-two positions.

UAE T20 World Cup squad: CP Rizwan (c), Vriitya Aravind (vc), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, Basil Hameed, Aryan Lakra, Zawar Farid, Kashif Daud, Karthik Meiyappan, Ahmed Raza, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Sabir Ali, Alishan Sharafu, and Aayan Khan.

Reserves: Sultan Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Vishnu Sukumaran, Adithya Shetty, Sanchit Sharma