UAE claim final T20 World Cup 2026 ticket in Oman

By Daniel Beswick

United Arab Emirates have claimed a ticket to next year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, securing a top-three spot at the Asia/East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in Oman.

They join Nepal and Oman who guaranteed their top three spots on Wednesday, completing the final slate of 20 teams for the global tournament.

Muhammad Waseem’s side completed the job with victory against Japan, eliminating Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming’s side from the qualification race.

The result also made a top-three finish mathematically impossible for Qatar and Samoa, who were hoping for a Japanese win to keep their hopes alive.

The Emiratis were relentless in the field, beginning with a direct hit run out from Muhammad Farooq to remove Abhishek Anand, with Farooq also haunting fellow opener Kadowaki-Fleming, caught on the boundary off the bowling of Haider Ali.

The Japanese struggled to regroup after a Powerplay of 25/3, with Haider claiming the key wicket of Esam Rahman (23) in a spell of 3/12 (3). The side in cherry blossom pink finally found a partnership, with No.11 Abdul Samad helping wicket-keeper Wataru Miyauchi give the Japanese a fighting chance.

Playing his first game of the tournament, Miyauchi struck a valiant 45 not out from 32 balls to move his side to 116, with Samad contributing 11 in a stand of 42.

Despite the late fightback, UAE ensured they held the upper hand early in their chase, with Alishan Sharafu and the skipper racing to 36/0 in the first three overs.

Waseem (42 from 26 balls) and Sharafu (46 from 27) did fall in the chase, though the Emiratis closed out the chase in the 13th over to spark their qualification celebrations.