With the Asia Cup 2025 set to take place in the UAE this September, three of the contenders will warm up with a tri-series in Sharjah. Below are the key talking points as hosts UAE, Pakistan and Afghanistan gear up for action.
Captain cool
If Salman Agha is feeling under pressure after losing the class of Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan from his ranks, then he has a funny way of showing it.
Pakistan’s captain was coolness personified when the three leaders had their photo shoot with the trophy on Thursday afternoon, ahead of the tri-series starting on Friday.
That was a fair effort, given that it was 2.30pm in the blazing heat of late summer in Sharjah. And if his side is missing some familiar faces, then so be it. He sees it as an opportunity.
“Whenever you captain Pakistan or any country, it is a great opportunity and responsibility,” Agha said.
“I am loving that responsibility right now. The team I have is really helping me on the captaincy.
“They have been doing really well for the past three series, ticking most of the boxes, and we are really looking forward to this series.”
Welcome home
The UAE might be the hosts of the tri-series, but they have actually played the fewest T20 internationals at Sharjah Cricket Stadium of the three teams.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have both called the UAE's oldest cricket venue home in the past, and they know their way around it.
Afghanistan, for whom the venue was home when they started their extraordinary rise in international cricket, have won 17 of the 25 T20Is they have played there.
The UAE have played six T20Is, winning three, while Pakistan have won six of nine.
“For Pakistan, whenever we have come here we have always done well,” Agha said of a place which provided sanctuary when they were exiled from Pakistan for a decade.
“It is great preparation for us for the Asia Cup, playing against two great teams. We are very excited, and we are ready for the challenge tomorrow.”
Giant killers
It goes without saying that the UAE are the outsiders. Pakistan and Afghanistan are ranked eighth and ninth respectively in the ICC’s T20I standings, and each are packed with household names.
But the national team are unlikely to be daunted. Expectations might be low, but the rewards for success could be high.
Plus they are bolstered by the knowledge they have taken some major scalps already in this format.
In recent years they have taken wins over New Zealand and the Afghans, as well as completing a series win over Bangladesh in Sharjah earlier this year.
“This is a proud moment for us,” Muhammad Waseem, the UAE captain, said. “We have beaten Afghanistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh, and this is a good opportunity for us, as an Associate team, to play against the best teams. We have prepared well and we hope to get our rewards.”
Young stars
All cricket fans know the merits of the likes of Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shaheen Afridi, Fakhar Zaman and Haris Rauf.
But the UAE players? Less so. Waseem has won some admirers in his time opening the batting for the national team and in the DP World International League T20, but the rest are hardly known beyond cricket’s mainstream.
That could work in their favour, though, and the national team are not short on young talent. Asked to specify some players to watch ahead of the series, Waseem nominated Ethan D’Souza, Alishan Sharafu and Dhruv Parashar.
The latter two played key roles in the series win over Bangladesh, while the former, D’Souza, is still only 19 but has been around top flight cricket for the past three years.
“I am very happy with them, the way they have gone about their preparation, and the way they have changed their approach,” Waseem said. “Look out for them.”
Rashid’s plea
Rashid is unquestionably a great bowler, and probably Afghanistan’s finest ever cricketer. He is also a fine ambassador for his country.
Ahead of Friday’s opening match against Pakistan, he seemed almost pleased to be asked about fan unrest.
Security is likely to be a hot topic for a number of matches in the UAE over the next month or so.
The political situation between India and Pakistan mean’s cricket’s biggest fixture will be even more tense than usual.
In fact, matches between those two rivals in the UAE have almost always been good natured.
The same cannot be said about Afghanistan and Pakistan, whose matches have often met with ugly scenes beyond the boundary.
Rashid took his chance at the pre-tournament media briefing to ask for unity, and told fans to enjoy the game and respect each other.
UAE squad
Muhammad Waseem (captain), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma, Asif Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Ethan D’ Souza, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Mohammed Farooq, Mohammed Jawadullah, Mohammed Zohaib, Rahul Chopra, Rohid Khan, Saghir Khan
Fixtures
At Sharjah Cricket Stadium, all matches start at 7pm
Friday, August 29 – Afghanistan v Pakistan
Saturday, August 30 – UAE v Pakistan
Monday, September 1 – Afghanistan v UAE
Tuesday, September 2 – Afghanistan v Pakistan
Thursday, September 4 – Pakistan v UAE
Friday, September 5 – Afghanistan v UAE
Sunday, September 7 – Final
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The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
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Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
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The struggle is on for active managers
David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.
The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.
Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.
Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.
Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.
At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn.
Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
