Despite heightened political tensions between their home countries, the UAE national cricket team remains a unified family, according to captain Muhammad Waseem. The team, which is composed of an equal number of players of Indian and Pakistani origin, was at the center of a dramatic and delayed Asia Cup clash against Pakistan. Waseem insisted that the ongoing tensions have had no effect on the personal relationships within the team.
The issue of India-Pakistan relations caused a stir at the tournament when India's skipper, Suryakumar Yadav, and his team refused the handshake with Pakistan's players. The incident led to a formal complaint from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and a significant delay in the start of their match against the UAE. While some might have expected the controversy to spill over into the UAE locker room, Waseem stated that his team was focused on the game.
When asked if the India-Pakistan tensions affected the team's camaraderie, Waseem replied, "No, we are not talking about that. We have played a lot of cricket together. There is no Indian and no Pakistani. We play for UAE team. We play as a family and live as a family." This sentiment was echoed by teammates like Junaid Siddique, who hails from Multan, Pakistan, and Simranjeet Singh, from Ludhiana, India, both of whom have found success playing together for the UAE.
Despite losing to Pakistan by 41 runs, Waseem’s team put up a respectable performance. The captain stated that his team could have asked for a walkover due to the delay caused by Pakistan but chose not to, reiterating, "We came here to play the game, and we did that." He added that the team was not affected by the delay. "Didn't matter if we were playing on time or we were playing late," he said. "This is not our work. This is organiser's work."
The UAE's experience in playing against top sides like India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan has given them fresh perspective on handling pressure. "We've learnt a lot," Waseem said. "We've learnt to handle pressure. Like today, we lost three wickets in the powerplay, but even after that, the boys built a partnership." The team's next focus is the Asia region qualifiers, where they will compete for a spot in next year's T20 World Cup, with their Indian-Pakistani core hoping to come together to secure their place.