New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS) United Arab Emirates (UAE) head coach Lalchand Rajput heaped praise on Sohaib Khan for being a standout middle-order batter ahead of their final ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Group D game against South Africa, adding that he just has to go higher now in his cricketing career.

Though UAE are out of the race to Super Eights, Sohaib has emerged as a big positive for the side in the competition. With back to back fifties against Canada and Afghanistan, Sohaib has become the first UAE batter to achieve this feat in a single edition of the T20 World Cup.

His nine sixes are also the most maximums hit by a UAE player in a single T20 World Cup edition. Due to this, UAE have the fourth best run rate (12.3) in overs 17-20, with Sohaib having an astonishing strike-rate of 197.

“He is a player who has been a revelation in the middle-order. He just came into the team with his performances in the local cricket games and we saw him there and called him for the national camp. There we played matches among ourselves, so he showed a lot of positive interest and he really battled well and he got an opportunity to play in the World Cup and he’s never looked back.”

“Before this, we took him to the Emerging (Men’s Asia) Cup, where he got a 60-odd runs against India and I think he is really strong and he plays realistic cricket, to be very honest, he backs his skill and the way he is battling I think is fantastic to get back-to-back 50s, and in one game, he really won it for us, and almost we could have won the game yesterday as well.”

“So it’s a good platform for him to showcase his talent. I am sure that he just has to go higher now. He can’t go down now and I am sure he knows that and that’s a good thing for UAE cricket as we have got a batter who can bat in the middle order,” said Rajput while replying to a query from IANS in the pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

South Africa sealed their Super Eight place with three wins from three games in Group D and arrive for the game against the UAE with nothing to lose. Rajput, who was Indian team’s manager when they won 2007 Men’s T20 World Cup in South Africa, said the UAE had already shown enough over the course of the tournament to take real encouragement for future matches.

“Overall if you look at the UAE, I think our journey has been good so far. In the first game, we never did well as a bowling unit but I think we battled well. But the last two games, we really proved that we are a better team than what was expected after the first game.”

The UAE were hammered by 10 wickets by New Zealand in their tournament opener in Chennai before rallying to beat Canada by five wickets in New Delhi and then pushing Afghanistan before going down by five wickets.

“If you look at the associate countries, I think they don’t play much. They don’t get too much time to play any of the best teams in the world, and I think this was a big opportunity for them, and they have to come out of that shell as well.

“Once you start winning games, I think that confidence level goes up, and they even start playing much better. So this World Cup has shown the players have confidence and self-belief that they can do it and we are just hoping that it goes on well.”

Rajput was also a part of Zimbabwe’s coaching setup for a long time, and he spoke about their stunning 23-run victory over Australia, which has left Group B wide open. Zimbabwe face Ireland in Kandy, where the toss has been delayed due to rain, and Rajput felt an entry for them in what could be the game that seals their maiden Super Eight berth and eliminates 2021 champions Australia from the tournament.

“Yes, I was with Zimbabwe for five years, and they got a great upset by beating Australia. Today, if they beat Ireland, I think Australia will be out, and it will be good for Zimbabwe cricket as well because last time they never played in the World Cup, and getting into the Super Eights will be a good platform for them to showcase that they are still a better team as compared to what is expected of them,” he concluded.

–IANS

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