After India brushed aside the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a contest that lasted a combined 17.4 overs, UAE head coach Lalchand Rajput put his side’s heavy defeat down to the aura and skill of the Indian players.
UAE was skittled for 57—the lowest score by a team against India in T20Is—with left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav inflicting the bulk of the damage with returns of 4/7 in 2.1 overs.
“It is not a turning track. It is a good wicket to bat on. The skill level of these bowlers, especially the wrist spinners, they will always turn [the ball] on any type of wicket. Our batsmen were overawed by India’s big names… We should have batted 20 overs,” Rajput admitted.
Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill started off like the clappers, and their bruising 48-run stand for the first wicket meant India cantered home in just 4.3 overs.
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Despite the drubbing, Rajput, who was appointed the UAE’s head coach in February last year, said that his players have started believing in themselves.
The year has been a mixed bag for the UAE. While it came from behind to beat Bangladesh 2-1 in a T20I series in May, it lost to Uganda twice during the Pearl of Africa series that followed. In the lead-up to the Asia Cup, for which it qualified after nine years, the UAE pushed Pakistan and Afghanistan close in a couple of matches in the tri-series but couldn’t cross the line.
While taking part in the Asia Cup is itself an achievement, Rajput is also looking at creating a wide pool of talent for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia & East-Asia Qualifier, beginning on October 8 in Oman, ahead of next year’s showpiece. The UAE will be among 10 teams competing for three spots for next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
“We were looking forward to the Asia Cup because we qualified after a long time. We beat Bangladesh, that was a very good series for us. Uganda was a series where we could try some more players for the T20 World Cup Qualifiers. The players have started believing in themselves. We are a better team, and you will see that in the upcoming matches,” Rajput promised.
“India is a world champion team. They have got class bowlers. It is a big opportunity for our players, because they have never played such a type of bowling. This is a big platform for them. It is a learning process for our team and players as well. I am sure these matches will give them a lot of confidence in the matches to come,” he added.
Published on Sep 11, 2025
