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The UAE's head coach, Robin Singh, acknowledged that his team must play a "good" game of cricket to defeat Sri Lanka in Tuesday's crucial Group A encounter and have a chance to advance to the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
UAE staged a valiant late comeback with the ball in their tournament opener against the Netherlands at Kardinia Park on Sunday after scoring 111/8 with the bat. This was made possible by bowler Junaid Siddique's 3/24. However, it wasn't enough to save the UAE from a three-wicket defeat with one ball remaining.
"You'll aim to exploit the flaws of any opponent we face. It's not simply that they lost the game, at the end of the day. For us, I believe, the most important thing is to go play some excellent cricket. In order to defeat Sri Lanka, we must play a strong cricket match."
"They recently won the Asia Cup and are a top team. Although we are supposed to go out there and fight them, despite the fact that they are in a scenario where they are likely anticipated to win, for us, it's also about winning "Singh stated in the press conference prior to the game.
Singh also noted that Namibia's 55-run victory over Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup opening proved that the reigning Asia Cup champions might lose, which may have given the UAE more incentive to play better cricket on Tuesday.
"We don't really have a choice, in my opinion. We look forward to playing these games. We're playing Sri Lanka for the first time likely in a while. I believe that in these competitions, you must recognise the opportunity. UAE has certainly participated in World Cups in the past."
"However, I believe that this tournament is new because it has diverse circumstances, roles, and settings. We have to prevail in this match, exactly like Sri Lanka. We need to realise that it's simply a game, in my opinion. They may be defeated because Namibia has already defeated them."
Prior to the T20 World Cup, UAE made an unexpected captaincy change in August when they chose batter CP Rizwan in lieu of veteran pacer Ahmed Raza. Rizwan unexpectedly took over for Raza after the UAE had successfully qualified for the current T20 World Cup.
When asked about the decision to replace Raza as captain two months ago, Singh said it was based on the idea that Raza was no longer a sure starter in the starting eleven. "I believe we should determine who can make the team first. Therefore, in my judgement, this is not the appropriate place for that."
"In light of that, I believe it's critical to recognise that when we change a captain, we do it for a reason and because doing so was a brave decision. We sought out a player who might maybe start the game."