UAE opener Alishan Sharafu is excited to play against the heavy-weight names like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. UAE will start their campaign in the Asia Cup 2025 campaign against India on 10th September. The Indian team have faced the UAE only once in the T-20I format, which was in the Asia Cup 2016. It is nearly a decade later that the rivalry resumes with Suryakumar Yadav and Muhammad Waseem as the captains of the two sides.
Sharafu said ahead of the match, “I think they are all quality players. If we have to take some names, like I said, Jasprit Bumrah or someone like Hardik Pandya. These guys are match-winners and they can change the game on their own. I’m quite excited to go out there and have that experience of playing against them. Hopefully, we can give them a tough time.”
UAE recently played against Pakistan and Afghanistan in the tri-series where they did not win a single game. In their final match of the tournament, they came really close to beating the Afghan side but ended up losing the match by only 4 runs.
Despite the losses, Sharafu said that the team was confident in its abilities and could spring a surprise against Suryakumar Yadav’s side.
