Starting from Friday, the best of Asian women’s cricket, including emerging teams at the associate level, will be on display at the 2026 Women’s T20 Asia Cup (August 28-September 13) in Dubai.
For the first time in the history of the continental event, the UAE will play host, a significant achievement for the country amid the regional conflict.
If earning the right to stage the event in the middle of a raging Middle East conflict is a great achievement, the country’s women’s team being part of it is the icing on the cake.
A berth at the Asia Cup hasn’t come on a platter for Esha Oza’s team, which produced a string of impressive performances in the qualifying tournament earlier this year.
For a country that struggled to put together 11 players to form a women’s cricket team until around 15 years ago, this will be the UAE’s third consecutive appearance at the Asia Cup.
Captain Esha Oza was incredibly proud of playing this important tournament on home soil.
“As a team, we were watching the T20 Women’s World Cup as well here in Dubai. We were watching from the stands,” said Esha during the captains’ press conference at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
“So now we’re really excited to play the Asia Cup in front of our fans and our friends and family.”
While seven-time champions India’s star-studded team are expected to be the biggest crowd pullers in the tournament, the event is also a great platform for emerging nations to showcase their cricketing rise.
Alongside the UAE, the other ICC associate nations in this competition are Thailand, Hong Kong and Indonesia, the badminton-mad Southeast Asian country where cricket is beginning to become a popular sport, especially among young girls in school.
For Nanda Sakarini, the Indonesian captain, it’s a huge honour to lead the team in her country’s Asia Cup cricket debut.
“Very excited. I think it’s a good opportunity for us, a big exposure for Indonesia,” she said at the press conference.
“We get to play in the Asia Cup for the first time. This is a historic moment for us, and we want to gain so much experience and so much learning from this Asia Cup, and we are definitely very excited.”
Maryam Bibi was just 11 when Hong Kong China made its Asia Cup debut in 2014.
Now she will be leading the team in only its second appearance in the tournament.
“I think this is a new one for us. The Asia Cup is really fun, and we are here to just enjoy cricket and enjoy the exposure that we get here and play against the higher-ranked teams,” the 23-year-old said.
“For us women, what matters is the main thing is that we enjoy ourselves and enjoy this environment.”
India, the overwhelming favourites, will play Pakistan, Thailand and Hong Kong in Group A.
Defending champions Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia and hosts UAE will compete in Group B, as the top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals, with the final scheduled for September 13.
Hong Kong will take on Thailand in the opening match of the tournament on Friday, with the UAE opening their campaign against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
India will play their first match against Thailand on Sunday.
But the biggest match of the tournament, India vs Pakistan, is scheduled for September 5.
For Harmanpreet Kaur, India’s captain, the tournament presents another opportunity to prove their status as one of the world’s best teams, having won the ICC ODI World Cup last year on home soil.
“We have been working hard over the last couple of months. We had a very good camp where we worked very hard to execute our plans,” the Indian superstar said.
“Yeah, definitely, we’ll try to win this trophy because we are here to win. So, we’ll just try to play our best cricket, and we’ll try to play good cricket here and show our best.”
Pakistan captain Fatima Sana hopes to make history in Dubai by winning their first-ever Asia Cup title.
“We’ll try to win this trophy because we are here to win,” said Fatima.
“So, we’ll just try to play our best cricket and show our best.”
Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana Joty and Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu hoped their teams would put their best foot forward.
Source: Khaleej Times