The UAE will be bidding to make it to successive World Cups for the first time when they play at the T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier in Kathmandu.
The two finalists in the eight-team event will advance to play at the main event in the West Indies and US in June 2024.
Expansion
For the first time, the T20 World Cup will involve 20 teams, 16 of which have already been decided. As hosts, the West Indies and USA took the first two spots.
Then the top eight teams in the last 20-over World Cup, in Australia 2022, were guaranteed places.
That is defending champions England, Australia, India, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh and Afghanistan qualified as the next two highest-ranked sides before 14 November 2022.
Regional qualifying
The remaining eight places are being decided by regional tournaments. Papua New Guinea advanced from East-Asia Pacific qualifying. Canada were the lone side to progress from the Americas event.
Ireland and Scotland made it from Europe. The two Asia sides will be decided in Kathmandu, with the African qualifier taking place next month.
Players to watch
-
Dipendra Singh Airee - Nepal: Set a record that might never be broken when he hit the fastest T20I half century in just nine balls against Mongolia in the Asian Games last month. Chris Whiteoak / The National -

Kushal Malla - Nepal: Capable of destruction with the bat, but also a handy option with his left arm spin as he showed against the UAE in the tri-nations series preceding the Qualifier. Getty Images -
Basil Hameed - UAE: Back in Mulpani, where he relaunched his UAE career earlier this year, and he clearly loves the ground where the national team will be based for their group matches. Subas Humagain for The National -

Mohammed Jawadullah - UAE: Learnt cricket while throwing stones in his village in Pakistan. Came to the UAE to work as an electrician. Now he is a full-time pro cricketer and highly regarded left-armer. Pawan Singh / The National -

Aqib Ilyas - Oman: The Muscat-raised all-rounder is multi-skilled. One of the most talented batters in the competition and can bowl either leg or off spin depending on what suits the situation. AFP -

Babar Hayat - Hong Kong: Broad-shouldered batter is in good nick, having struck 66, then 60 not out in just 20, against the UAE in the tri-series which preceded the Qualifier. Courtesy ACC
Groups
The UAE will play their group matches in Mulpani, which is the smaller of two international cricket grounds in Nepal’s capital city.
They will be joined by Kuwait, Bahrain and Hong Kong. Although the national team are the highest-ranked side in their group, they have lost to each of their opponents in T20 cricket in recent times.
In the other group, Nepal and Oman are favourites to make it out of a group that also includes Singapore and Malaysia. Their matches will be played at Tribhuvan University.
UAE squad
Muhammad Waseem (captain), Aayan Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Khalid Shah, Nilansh Keswani, Sanchit Sharma, Mohammed Jawadullah, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan
UAE fixtures
Monday, October 30 UAE v Bahrain
Tuesday, October 31 UAE v Kuwait
Thursday, November 2 UAE v Hong Kong
Friday. November 3 Semi-final
Sunday, November 5 final
Broadcast
Matches will be streamed live for free on icc.tv.
Kamindu Mendis bio
Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis
Born: September 30, 1998
Age: 20 years and 26 days
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team
Batting style: Left-hander
Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)
Scoreline:
Everton 4
Richarlison 13'), Sigurdsson 28', Digne 56', Walcott 64'
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)
'I Want You Back'
Director:Jason Orley
Stars:Jenny Slate, Charlie Day
Rating:4/5
Other IPL batting records
Most sixes: 292 – Chris Gayle
Most fours: 491 – Gautam Gambhir
Highest individual score: 175 not out – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Highest strike-rate: 177.29 – Andre Russell
Highest strike-rate in an innings: 422.22 – Chris Morris (for Delhi Daredevils against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017)
Highest average: 52.16 – Vijay Shankar
Most centuries: 6 – Chris Gayle
Most fifties: 36 – Gautam Gambhir
Fastest hundred (balls faced): 30 – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Fastest fifty (balls faced): 14 – Lokesh Rahul (for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Daredevils in 2018)
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20S23%20ULTRA
COMPANY%20PROFILE
RESULT
Bournemouth 0 Southampton 3 (Djenepo (37', Redmond 45' 1, 59')
Man of the match Nathan Redmond (Southampton)
Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: N2 Technology
Founded: 2018
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Startups
Size: 14
Funding: $1.7m from HNIs
While you're here ...
While you're here
Justin Thomas: Injustice does not need to be set in stone
Sholto Byrnes: When did we stop being shocked by the far right?
SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammed Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Saeed Ahmed, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Muhammed Jumah, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Jawan
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae
Crime%20Wave
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
While you're here
RACECARD
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome


