“There is no Indian or Pakistani, we are family in UAE team”- captain Muhammad Waseem

UAE captain Muhammad Waseem asserted that the tensions between India and Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 tournament have not affected the camaraderie within the UAE cricket team, which is made up of a mix of expats from the two nations.

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With Simranjeet Singh, Rahul Chopra, Harshit Kaushik, Dhruv Parashar, and Alishan Sharafu on one side and Multan-born captain Waseem, Haider Ali, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Rohid, and Asif Khan on the other, the UAE cricket squad boasts an equal number of players of Indian and Pakistani ancestry.

Despite the strained ties between the two nations—which recently saw a military confrontation after the Pahalgam terror assault that claimed 26 Indian lives—Waseem said the team is like a family.

“We play as a family”—Muhammad Waseem says no India-Pakistan in UAE team.

Waseem responded negatively when asked if the team's interpersonal connections or if there have been any discussions in the changing room have been impacted by the current issues.

"No, we are not talking about that (Indo-Pak tensions) as we play a lot of cricket together. We are like a family here. There is no Indian and no Pakistani. We play for the UAE team. We play as a family and live as a family," Waseem was quoted as saying by PTI.

Despite playing well with the ball and holding the opponent to 146 for 9, the UAE lost to Pakistan by 41 runs. The hosts had arrived at the stadium two hours ahead of the scheduled start time; thus, Waseem's team might have requested a walkover following the Pakistan-caused delay.

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Waseem, who was born in Pakistan, clarified that he had never considered requesting such a decision. He insisted that his team was not affected by the delay caused by the Pakistani team.

"First of all, this is not our responsibility or our work. We were focusing on our game. We came here to play the game, and we did that. Didn't matter if we were playing on time or we were playing late. It doesn't matter if we are playing at 6:30 or 7:30 pm. This is not our work. This is the organizer’s work. We came here to play the game, and we played the game," he said.

Muhammad Waseem was selected by Islamabad United in 2024 but was unable to play because of international obligations. In 2021, he played in the Pakistan Super League as a replacement for the Multan Sultans.

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