The Asia Cup 2025 begins in the UAE on the 9th of September. The UAE begin their campaign on the 10th with a contest that captures both scale and symbolism — India versus the United Arab Emirates at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. For the UAE, this isn’t just the opening game of the tournament. It is the culmination of years of resilience, infrastructure building, and a growing talent pool that has turned a fledgling cricketing nation into a rising force.
Cricket in the UAE took root in the 1980s, nurtured largely by South Asian expatriates. In 1984, the country hosted the inaugural Asia Cup in Sharjah, a tournament that began with just three teams. India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. That moment planted the seeds for what has now become a global cricketing hub. The 1990s saw the Sharjah Cricket Stadium turn into a carnival ground, hosting more than 200 ODIs, a world record that stands to this day.
By the 2000s, UAE cricket began making its own mark. The national team qualified for the 1996 World Cup, a landmark achievement for an associate nation. It would return to the ODI World Cup in 2015, showing that UAE was no longer just a host. It was also a competitor.
No cricketing nation outside the Test-playing elite has built infrastructure quite like the UAE. The Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, and Sharjah’s storied venue together form a triangle of world-class facilities unmatched in convenience and quality.
These stadiums have hosted some of cricket’s biggest events: the 2014 Under-19 World Cup, the 2021 T20 World Cup (relocated due to the pandemic), the 2023 IPL playoffs, and now the Asia Cup 2025. Dubai’s stadium alone has staged more than 150 T20 internationals — the highest in the world.The country’s role as a dependable neutral host cemented its status in global cricket. Yet, the ambition was never just to be a venue. It was to build a team capable of competing on those very grounds.
The UAE’s cricketing story is written by a diverse cast of players. Khurram Khan, one of the country’s first batting stalwarts, scored over 2,000 runs in ODIs and T20Is combined, and became the oldest player to score an ODI century at 43. Shaiman Anwar added firepower with the bat, becoming the first UAE player to score hundreds in both ODIs and T20Is.
More recently, names like Muhammad Waseem, the current captain, have taken charge. Known for his fearless stroke play, Waseem has emerged as one of the most dangerous associate batsmen in T20 cricket.
Karthik Meiyappan etched his name into history with a hat-trick in the 2022 T20 World Cup. It was the first ever by an associate player in the tournament. Spinners like Ahmed Raza and all-rounders such as Rohan Mustafa have given the team depth and variety. These players have turned the UAE from a team of hopefuls into one that commands respect in associate cricket.
In recent years, the UAE have made consistent progress. The team has beaten established sides like Ireland, Zimbabwe, and Afghanistan in limited-over matches, proving that they can compete at the next level. Domestically, the launch of the International League T20 (ILT20) in 2023 has given local players exposure alongside global stars like Andre Russell, David Warner, and Rashid Khan.
Now, with a 17-member squad led by Waseem, the UAE enters the Asia Cup with both opportunity and expectation. They open against India, then face Pakistan and Oman in the group stage. Even one upset could tilt the balance of the tournament and announce UAE’s arrival on the big stage.
What makes the UAE story remarkable is its dual identity…cricket’s most reliable host and now a nation with a team of its own to believe in. The journey from Sharjah in 1984 to Dubai in 2025 is one of vision and persistence. From Khurram Khan to Muhammad Waseem, from expatriate roots to a professional league, from qualifiers to the Asia Cup opener, UAE cricket has come full circle.
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