Waseem vows fearless World Cup push

He says if they play good cricket on the day, they can beat any team

KARACHI:

The UAE has set its sights on delivering a strong performance in the upcoming World Cup. Captain Muhammad Waseem said that the team is currently not focusing on its opponents but entirely on improving its own performance.
“If we play good cricket on the day, we can beat any team,” he stated.
According to details, the T20 World Cup will be held in India and Sri Lanka during February and March. The UAE qualified for the event through an impressive showing in the qualifiers. The team is placed in Group D alongside New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, and Canada.
In an exclusive interview with Express tribune in Dubai, UAE captain Muhammad Waseem said, “We are extremely happy to participate in the World Cup. This year has been great for our team — we played in the Asia Cup and have now qualified for the World Cup. We are working hard to perform well on the big stage. Right now, we are not thinking about our opponents; our full focus is on our own game. We’re putting in the effort to perform well against whichever team we face. If we play good cricket on the match day, we can defeat anyone.”
He added, “Our team is quite balanced at the moment, with both experienced players and talented youngsters. We’ll enter the field with a strong combination. I can’t single out any one player because a team doesn’t win due to one individual — collective performance matters most. I’m confident that the UAE will perform well as a team.”
Waseem expressed satisfaction with his own performance, saying, “I’ll try to maintain the same consistency in both batting and leadership. We are working hard to perform well and beat Test-playing nations, although it’s not an easy task. We have already defeated New Zealand, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. You will soon see us beating teams that we currently only give tough competition to. We’re not thinking about any specific opponent — since Pakistan and India are not in our group, we’ll focus on giving our best against whoever we face.”
He further said, “Playing against Test nations is a great opportunity. The more we play them, the better we’ll become. Right now, we can give them a tough time, and soon we’ll start defeating them too.”
In response to a question about his journey, Waseem said, “I’ve worked very hard to reach this point. I started my cricket career in Pakistan and then continued it after moving to the UAE. Both my country and the UAE Cricket Board have supported me a lot. The UAE has given me great respect and recognition, and I’m very happy about that.”
When asked whether he would have played for Pakistan had he been there, he replied, “I can’t really say, but if I had played the same kind of cricket there that I’m playing now, maybe I would have gotten the chance.”
When asked about his favorite cricketer, he jokingly said, “Myself,” and then added, “I’ve learned a lot from Kieron Pollard, and Nicholas Pooran is also a very good cricketer. But overall, my favorite player is AB de Villiers.”
He also mentioned, “I have a good relations with Fakhar Zaman — he’s a wonderful person and player. I enjoy watching him when he’s in full flow with his aggressive batting.”
Muhammad Waseem praised the ILT20 League, calling it “a fantastic tournament with a very high standard of cricket.”