T20 World Cup: UAE release all-rounder Muhammad Zohaib due to disciplinary issues ahead of opening match

NEW DELHI: The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Monday that all-rounder Muhammad Zohaib has been sent back from the squad due to disciplinary issues but did not share more details on the matter.

"Muhammad Zohaib has been sent back due to disciplinary issues. More details will be provided in due course. ECB will at this stage not make any further comment on the matter," the board said in a statement.



Meanwhile, UAE captain Muhammad Waseem made it clear that tensions around India-Pakistan matches do not affect his team ahead of their opening game in the T20 World Cup against New Zealand on Tuesday. He stressed that the UAE squad is united regardless of nationality.

"No, to be honest, there is no India-Pakistan. We are playing for the UAE and we are always treating ourselves like a family," Waseem said.

He added, "We are living like a family, friends. We are spending time together, eating together. There is no Indian-Pakistani in the UAE team to be honest."

Waseem also praised Indian head coach Lalchand Rajput, who joined the team in 2024. He said Rajput’s experience has helped the players understand conditions better.

"He has so much experience about India. He is working with the boys; he is telling everything about the pitches and the other things. So it helped us a lot and we are working on that and inshallah you will see tomorrow the same things he told to boys," he added.

Looking ahead to their match against New Zealand, Waseem said UAE would take confidence from their historic win over the Black Caps in 2023.

"Our strategy is very simple. We beat them before in UAE but this time it's a different venue, different tournament, different ground, and different game also," he said.

"So we came with the other plan right now… we prepared ourselves like a champion team. So inshallah, we will try to play a good cricket against them tomorrow."

He also said the team is well prepared, adding, "Yeah, preparation is going very good to be honest… we came here with a different mindset and mentality. So you will see tomorrow the way boys will play."


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