Dubai, 6 November 2026 Former UAE Women’s Head Coach and UAE Men’s National Captain Ahmed Raza will take over the UAE Men’s National Team’s coaching as Lalchand Rajput has decided to step down from the role. Ahmed will start his tenure with the national team this week. The 38 year-old Sharjah-born Ahmed previously coached UAE Women for a three-year period. His extensive coaching experience also includes stints with the DP World International League T20 franchise Dubai Capitals and The Hundred franchise Southern Brave. He was also Dubai Capitals’ head coach at the Global Super League – Guyana 2025. In a distinguished playing career, Ahmed captained UAE in 29 out of his 53 ODIs. He also captained the side in 27 T20Is – played a total of 55 T20Is. ECB Board Member Zayed Abbas: “The Emirates Cricket Board thanks Lalchand Rajput for his commitment, dedication and hard work with the UAE Men’s National Team. We wish Lalchand the very best for his future endeavours. “Ahmed Raza has already proven his worth as a capable head coach and under him the UAE Women made rapid progress. We are confident that he will be able to make a big impact and take the men’s team forward. We wish him the very best in his new role Lalchand Rajput My stint as UAE Men’s Head Coach was very rewarding and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the team. I sincerely thank the Emirates Cricket Board, the management, players and support staff for their cooperation, trust and support throughout my tenure. It has been a rewarding experience, and I will always cherish the relationships and memories built during this journey.“During my tenure, I am proud that we achieved some important milestones, including qualifying for the Asia Cup, the ICC T20 World Cup and securing a series win against Bangladesh. These achievements were the result of the collective efforts, commitment and hard work of the players, support staff and management. I firmly believe that UAE cricket has great potential, and I wish the team every success in its future endeavours. I hope the progress we have made will provide a strong foundation for continued success.UAE Men’s Head Coach Ahmed Raza I am honoured to have been chosen for this exciting role and look forward to beginning my new innings. I want to thank the ECB for granting me this opportunity. As a former national captain, I fully understand what it means to represent the UAE at the highest level. “The current team is full of highly skilled and experienced players as well as some exciting youngsters who will take the team forward. My aim will be to solidify some of the good work done in recent years and build further from there