UAE Make Two Changes as Simranjeet Singh and Syed Haider Come In

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Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan won the toss and elected to bowl first against United Arab Emirates, with both sides fighting to keep their slim Super Eight hopes alive in the competition.

Rashid described the Delhi surface as a “fresh wicket,” suggesting it would soften as the day progressed and make batting easier for the chasing side. Day matches at this World Cup have often seen early moisture in the pitch, offering assistance to bowlers during the initial overs. However, with sunny conditions and temperatures around 25°C, that advantage is expected to diminish as the game goes on.

Afghanistan made a like-for-like change to their bowling attack, bringing in pacer Ziaur Rahman in place of left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi. They continue to rely heavily on spin, naming four specialist spinners in Rashid, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi, and Noor Ahmad.

UAE, meanwhile, rang in two changes to their playing XI. Simranjeet Singh and Syed Haider were drafted in, replacing Muhammad Farooq and Mayank Kumar, as they look to strengthen their line-up for a must-win encounter.

With both teams virtually out of Super Eight contention, the stakes remain high. The loser of this match will be mathematically eliminated, while the winner will still need a series of unlikely upsets involving table-toppers New Zealand and South Africa to progress.

Afghanistan XI: Rashid Khan (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Ziaur Rahman

United Arab Emirates XI: Muhammad Waseem (capt), Aryansh Sharma (wk), Alishan Sharafu, Sohaib Khan, Syed Haider, Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Arfan, Haider Ali, Simranjeet Singh, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Jawadullah