The UAE are strong candidates to win one of three available spots at next year's qualifying competition for the ICC World Twenty20 when they compete in the 10-team Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Twenty20 qualifiers that start Saturday in Nepal.
The top three teams, in addition to Afghanistan, who have pre-qualified, join six Associate teams and seven regional qualifiers in the 16-team qualifier, which will be played in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah from March 13 to 24 next year.
The top two teams in that competition qualify for the tournament proper in Sri Lanka in September 2012, alongside such heavyweights as India, Pakistan and the holders, England.
The Nepal qualifier sees the teams split into two groups of five with the top two reaching the semi-finals.
The UAE face Kuwait in Their Group B opener Saturday, and Kabir Khan, the coach, has already made his intentions clear.
"It is not only a matter of getting into the next stage of the qualifiers but our objective is to win this competition," he said.
Morning conditions are set to favour bowlers and even a 120 total is likely to be defendable.
"The first three games for us are in the afternoon but our players are experienced enough to play under any condition," Kabir said.
"We have a good balance in both batting and bowling, and we'll stick to our plans to win every game.
"Obviously, this competition is an ideal preparation for the next phase of the qualifier in the UAE, and winning it will be a massive confidence booster for our players."
The UAE's opponents in the remaining group games are Nepal, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. Afghanistan are in Group A with, Oman, Malaysia, Bhutan and Maldives.