Muhammad Waseem retained as UAE captain but CP Rizwan keeps place in squad for Nepal tour

Muhammad Waseem will retain the captaincy of the UAE side for the Cricket World Cup League 2 finale in Kathmandu.

Muhammad Waseem (captain), Aayan Khan, Aryan Lakra, Ashwanth Valthapa, Asif Khan, Aryansh Sharma, CP Rizwaan, Hazrat Billal, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Rohan Mustafa, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan and Zawar Farid.

The national team have four matches left in the competition, two each against hosts Nepal and Papua New Guinea.

They will fly to Nepal on the back of a poor run of form which saw them take just two wins from six matches over the past two weeks.

CP Rizwan was removed from the captaincy for the final fixture of that series of matches in Dubai, with opener Waseem taking over the reins.

The dismal run of results means UAE cannot now qualify directly for the global Qualifier in Zimbabwe later this year, which has on offer the final two places for the World Cup in India.

Instead UAE will play at the last-chance Qualifier Play-off in Namibia, starting at the end of this month. They will likely also be playing to retain one-day international status – and thus substantial ICC funding – in Windhoek.

Only the top five sides in League 2 are assured of ODI status. The national team are currently sixth in the points table.

“We have another important tri-series in Nepal which will be a formidable challenge,” Robin Singh, the UAE coach, was quoted as saying. “Our aim will be to finish the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 stage on a high.

“The decision to name Muhammad Waseem captain for the tri-series is a strategic one. Waseem has been one of our premier performers and has gained great confidence after his sensational run in the recently concluded DP World ILT20.

“We feel that he has a lot to offer to the