UAE batter Muhammad Waseem has made the decision to step down as the ODI captain, according to a statement from the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) on Friday.
Waseem, who has played 52 ODIs and captained the team in 26 of them, will be succeeded by wicketkeeper-batsman Rahul Chopra. Chopra's initial task as captain will be the ICC Cricket World Cup League tri-series, which includes hosts Oman and the Netherlands and is set to commence next month. Waseem remains part of the squad announced on Friday.
Waseem, who secured seven victories and faced 19 losses as captain, cited his desire to focus on his batting as the reason for relinquishing the captaincy. "I have chosen to step down as captain to prioritize my batting in the ODI format. I extend my best wishes to the new captain and will fully support him," Waseem, who scored his sole century in the format against Papua New Guinea, stated.
The ECB expressed gratitude for Waseem's contributions. "Muhammad Waseem has decided to step down as captain of the UAE men's ODI team. Waseem will continue to represent the country in ODIs. The Emirates Cricket Board thanks Waseem for his service as team captain and wishes him success in the future," the board announced.
Waseem has excelled in the T20 format, having played 57 T20 Internationals, scoring three centuries and 16 half-centuries. He has also participated in various franchise leagues globally, including the Pakistan Super League (PSL), UAE's ILT20, Bangladesh Premier League, Lanka Premier League, Global T20 Canada, and Abu Dhabi T10.
The ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 is a qualifying route for the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2027. UAE's tri-series schedule begins with a match against Oman on November 1, followed by games against the Netherlands on November 3 and Oman again on November 7. Their final match in the series will be against the Netherlands on November 9.
Squad: Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind. Coach: Lalchand Rajput.
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