UAE to Face Ireland in Two-Match T20I Series Ahead of 2026 World Cup

The United Arab Emirates will host Ireland for a two-match T20 International series in Dubai on January 29 and 31 as part of their preparations for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Muhammad Waseem has been named captain of the UAE side for the series.

The first T20I will be played on Thursday, January 29, starting at 6:30 pm local time, while the second match is scheduled for Saturday, January 31, with a 10:00 am local start.

While UAE have announced their squad for the Ireland series, they are yet to confirm their final squad for the T20 World Cup. The USA is the only other team among the 20 participating nations that has not yet named its World Cup squad.

Following the bilateral series, both teams will travel to the subcontinent for the World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

UAE have been placed in Group D of the tournament. They will begin their campaign against New Zealand in Chennai on February 10, before moving to Delhi to face Canada on February 13 and Afghanistan on February 16.

Ireland, meanwhile, are in Group B and will play all their group matches in Colombo. They face hosts Sri Lanka on February 8 at the R Premadasa Stadium, followed by Australia on February 11 at the same venue, and Oman on February 14 at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

The 20 teams in the tournament have been divided into four groups of five. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Super Eight stage, where the eight qualifiers will be split into two groups of four. The top two teams from each Super Eight group will progress to the semi-finals.

UAE squad for T20I series vs Ireland:
Muhammad Waseem (captain), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma (wk), Basil Hameed, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Arfan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra (wk), Rohid Khan, Sohaib Khan and Simranjeet Singh.