Mehak Thakur to lead UAE in the ICC Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2026

 DUBAI: Mehak Thakur will lead the 14-member UAE Women’s team in the eight-team ICC Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2026 which begins in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday, July 23.

The tournament is the Asia pathway event for the ICC Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup 2027. The winner of the tournament will earn qualification for the prestigious global tournament.

UAE have been drawn in Group A with Hong Kong China, Qatar and hosts Malaysia, the other three teams in the group. Group B includes Thailand, Kuwait, Myanmar and Bhutan. UAE play Hong Kong China in their opening game on Thursday July 23 at the Bayuemas Oval. They play the hosts Malaysia at the YSD UKM Oval on Friday, July 24. UAE’s final group game is against Qatar, and the match will be played on Sunday, July 26 at the Bayuemas Oval. All three matches will begin at 9:15 a.m. local time.

The top two teams from each group will compete in the semifinals on Tuesday, July 28. The two losing semifinalists will compete for the third position in a playoff while the two winning semifinalists will compete in the final on July 30 for World Cup qualification.