UAE name Esha Oza-led 14-member squad for Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy

Dubai: Hosts UAE have announced a 14-member squad, led by Esha Oza, for the upcoming ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy, which starts in Ajman on November 12.

Theertha Satish is the designated wicketkeeper in the squad. Al Maseera Jahangir, Archara Supriya, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Janani Thirukkumaran, Mehul Kulkarni, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Simran Seth, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte and Uttara Iyer complete the playing group.

The tournament will be the first major assignment for head coach Oscar Nauhaus. He was appointed to the role last month after Ahmed Raza stepped away to take over as head coach of the senior men’s team.

Nauhaus joins the UAE women’s team from Cricket Namibia, where he was most recently High Performance Manager. In that role, he worked on developing young players and supporting them through the national pathway system.

He also brings international experience. Nauhaus coached Namibia’s U19 men’s side to qualifying for the 2024 ICC U19 Men’s World Cup, and he was part of the support staff of the Namibian men’s team in the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Manager Subha Venkataraman, strength and conditioning coach Shyla Alam and physiotherapist Merin Saji complete the support staff. This edition of the competition has grown to 10 teams and matches will be played at two Ajman venues, the Seven Districts Sports Club and the Karwan Sports Club Cricket Ground.

The UAE are in Group A alongside Sri Lanka, Ireland, Scotland and Papua New Guinea. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, the Netherlands and Zimbabwe make up Group B. Esha and her team begin their campaign against Ireland at the Seven Districts Sports Club on November 13, with the match starting at 9 am local time.

All their remaining group games are at the Karwan Sports Club Cricket Ground. They play Scotland on November 15 and Sri Lanka on November 16, both at 1:15 p.m. local time, before finishing the group stage against Papua New Guinea on November 18 at 9 am.

The top three sides from each group will move into the Super Six stage, which runs from November 20 to 23. The top two teams from that stage will meet in the final at the Karwan Sports Club Cricket Ground on November 25.

UAE squad: Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Archara Supriya, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Janani Thirukkumaran, Mehul Kulkarni, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Simran Seth, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper), and Uttara Iyer.

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