ICC Men’s T20 WC 2026 | Match 28: Afghanistan vs UAE | Preview and Predictions

After a double Super Over heartbreak in their previous game against South Africa, Afghanistan will look to put that loss behind them and get on the points board when they take on the United Arab Emirates.

Here, we present our preview and predictions for Match 28 of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 | Match 28: AFG vs UAE | 11:00, February 16, 2026

Despite coming agonisingly close to pulling off an incredible win against South Africa, Afghanistan are in a spot of bother, having lost both their games so far in the World Cup. They desperately need to get points on the board if they want to have even an outside chance to make the Super Eight.

Afghanistan’s biggest issue this World Cup has been their bowling. Against New Zealand, despite picking up two quick wickets, their bowlers weren’t able to capitalise and allowed the Kiwis to get to an above-par score. Similarly, against the Proteas, the Afghan bowlers picked up a crucial early wicket of Aiden Markram but failed to put pressure as South Africa ran away with the innings.

Afghanistan have a stellar spin attack, comprising Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi, and Noor Ahmad, who will be expected to do better. The seamers, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Azmatullah Omarzai, have been leaking runs, something Afghanistan will hope to fix before their game against the UAE.

Afghanistan have crossed the 180-run mark with the bat in both games, though mainly due to a single batter stepping up across both games. It was Gulbadin Naib against New Zealand, while it was Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s near-classic 84 against South Africa that almost got them over the line. The rest of the top- and middle-order batters are yet to get substantial scores, and Rashid Khan will want his batters to step up in conditions that are similar to their home conditions.

The UAE, meanwhile, had a match to forget against New Zealand, as they lost by ten wickets. They put up a commendable performance with the bat, with Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu’s half-centuries helping the team reach 173/6, but they were smashed all over the park in the second innings by Tim Seifert and Finn Allen.

Waseem and Sharafu are the top two Emirati batters, and getting runs under their belts early on in the tournament is key for the whole team, but captain Waseem will hope that the remainder of the batting unit also steps up.

The Emirati bowlers didn’t have much to show for their efforts last time out and were demolished by the New Zealand openers, though Haider Ali did have a stand-out outing and impressed with the new ball. 

The Delhi pitch is known to assist spinners while bringing about some runs. Given their superior squad strength and stronger spin attack, we have Afghanistan as the favourites to take the win in this encounter. 

Fantasy XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk & vc), Ibrahim Zadran, Alishan Sharafu, Muhammad Waseem, Gulbadin Naib, Mayank Kumar, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (c), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Haider Ali, Muhammad Arfan

Venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Winners Prediction: Afghanistan