Margao-born Aayan Afzal Khan to play for UAE
PANAJI
Margao-born Aayan Afzal Khan playing for UAE since 2022 will be looking to prove a point or two when his team takes on India, Pakistan and Oman in the Group B matches of the Asia Cup Rising Stars 2025 which takes place from Friday at the West End International Cricket Stadium in Doha.
According to the format of the T20 tournament, which takes place at the only international stadium in Qatar, two matches are slotted for a day and will see eight teams vying for top honours with curtains coming down on the tournament on November 23.
The Asia Cup Rising Stars Championship is the rebranded version of the Emerging Asia Cup, with Afghanistan looking to defend the title they won in the last edition.
The eight teams are split into two groups of four. The five Test playing nations have sent their A teams while Oman, UAE and Hong Kong are here with their full senior teams.
India A, Pakistan A, UAE and Oman are in Group B while Group A consists of Bangladesh A, Sri Lanka A, Afghanistan A and Hong Kong.
A total of 15 matches will be played. Each team will play the other three teams in their group once. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals.
Group A’s winner will face Group B’s runner-up. Similarly, Group A’s runner-up will take on Group B’s winner. The winners of the semifinals will then meet in the final to compete for the trophy.
Aayan Afzal Khan is not new to Qatar having played a few tournaments over the last few years representing UAE and is a regular member of the team.
“I am looking forward to the matches in Qatar and playing against India A, Pakistan A and Oman in the group B matches,” said the left-arm spinner.
On the pitch, the focus will be on India ‘A’ and Pakistan ‘A’, who are in the same group.
Away from the pitch, the controversy surrounding Indian players' refusal to shake hands with Pakistan and also declining to accept the trophy from Asian Cricket Council chief Mohsin Naqvi after winning the tournament is fresh on the minds of cricket fans.
Now it remains to be seen whether the two teams make it to the final after qualifying from their group for the semi-final and the same set of scenarios off the field are repeated in Qatar.
Schedule(IST)
Nov. 14: Pakistan ‘A’ vs Oman, 12 pm; India ‘A’ vs UAE, 5 pm
Nov. 15: Bangladesh ‘A’ vs Hong Kong, 12 pm; Sri Lanka ‘A’ vs Afghanistan ‘A’, 5 pm
Nov. 16: UAE vs Oman, 3 pm; India ‘A’ vs Pakistan ‘A’, 8 pm
Nov. 17: Sri Lanka ‘A’ vs Hong Kong, 3 pm; Bangladesh ‘A’ vs Afghanistan ‘A’, 8 pm
Nov. 18: Pakistan ‘A’ vs UAE, 3 pm; India ‘A’ vs Oman, 8 pm
Nov. 19: Afghanistan ‘A’ vs Hong Kong, 3 pm; Sri Lanka ‘A’ vs Bangladesh ‘A’, 8 pm
Nov. 21: Semifinal 1 (A1 vs B2), 3 pm; Semifinal 2 (B1 vs A2), 8 pm
Nov. 23: Final, 8 pm
