UAE vs Bangladesh T20I 2025: Live Streaming in India, Match Timings, Squads and Sharjah Pitch Guide

UAE vs Bangladesh T20I 2025: Live Streaming in India, Match Timings, Squads and Sharjah Pitch Guide Sep, 2 2025

No TV broadcast in India for an international series? That was the reality for the UAE vs Bangladesh T20Is in Sharjah this May. If you were hunting for channels and found none, you weren’t alone. The two-match set in Sharjah ran as a compact, high-intent tune-up for both sides—Bangladesh under a fresh leadership call and the UAE getting back into international rhythm after lifting the Gulf T20 Championship late last year. Here’s the full lowdown: timings, streaming, squads, pitch, and what actually mattered in this short, sharp series.

What Indian fans need to know: timings, streaming, venue

The series featured two night games at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, a ground that has built a reputation for fast starts, tight middle overs, and nervy finishes. Both matches began in India’s prime viewing window, but there was a catch.

Match schedule at a glance:

  • 1st T20I: Saturday, May 17, 2025
  • 2nd T20I: Monday, May 19, 2025
  • Start time: 8:30 PM IST (7:00 PM UAE, 3:00 PM GMT)
  • Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

Broadcast and streaming in India:

  • No live TV broadcast on major sports channels in India
  • Live streaming: FanCode app and website

So if you were in India and wanted to watch, you had to stream. FanCode carried the games digitally, which meant phone, tablet, or smart TV via casting. If you’re used to flipping channels for international cricket, this was different, but it worked fine if your internet was stable. Tip: set your stream to auto for bitrate adjustment—Sharjah’s floodlights can make quick movement look choppy if your resolution is fixed and the connection dips.

Time zone check quick guide:

  • India: 8:30 PM IST
  • UAE: 7:00 PM local time
  • GMT: 3:00 PM GMT

Why the timing mattered: night T20s in Sharjah often bring dew late in the evening, which can affect bowling grips and fielding. Captains think hard about chasing here. The outfield is slick, boundaries are reachable, and mishits travel more than you expect.

About the venue: Sharjah is small and loud, and you feel it. Openers love the square boundaries, but the pitch can slow down after the first six overs. Spinners and cutters come into play, especially once the ball gets older. It’s a ground that tempts batters to go hard early, then punishes loose strokes once the pace of the ball changes.

Teams, tactics and why this small series matters

This wasn’t a throwaway series. Bangladesh came in with a leadership reset, and the UAE were returning to T20Is after a trophy-winning December. Short series, yes. But they were loaded with selection calls, role clarity, and some personal stakes.

Bangladesh’s new leadership picture: Litton Das captained the side, with bowling all-rounder Mahedi Hasan named vice-captain. This wasn’t completely out of the blue. Litton had a successful stand-in run late last year—he led a clean sweep against the West Indies in December 2024 when Najmul Hossain Shanto was out with a hamstring issue. Now he had the seat officially for this tour, with an eye on a five-match challenge against Pakistan right after.

The pace spearhead twist: Mustafizur Rahman was listed for the first T20I only. That single line changed a lot for Bangladesh’s planning. You get one game of his left-arm angles and death skills, then you need your younger quicks to take over. It sharpened the focus on Hasan Mahmud and Tanzim Hasan Sakib, who had to be ready for new-ball duty and the crunch overs.

UAE’s leadership reset: Muhammad Waseem returned as captain. He had stepped back from the role in October 2024 to zero in on his ODI batting, after leading in 26 matches across 2023–24. The recall came with a clear message—UAE wanted their most explosive T20 batter at the helm for this home series. Since his debut in October 2021, Waseem’s T20 run-scoring has been relentless. He sets tempo, forces bowlers off their lengths, and drags fields into awkward shapes.

Where both teams stood:

  • Bangladesh: using this series to test combinations and roles before Pakistan—new leadership, blended squad of seniors and emerging names, and a chance to solidify the top six and death bowling plans.
  • UAE: first T20Is since winning the Gulf T20 Championship in December 2024, where they beat Kuwait in the final. Momentum matters, and home conditions at Sharjah gave them a familiar runway.

The squads and the core names

Bangladesh’s key options:

  • Leadership and top order: Litton Das (captain) with strokeplay up top; Soumya Sarkar and Tanzid Hasan offering left-right flexibility. Towhid Hridoy and Shamim Hossain shore up the middle order with range hitting.
  • All-round glue: Mahedi Hasan, whose off-spin, tight lines, and late-innings hitting make him a balancing piece.
  • Pace unit: Mustafizur Rahman (first T20I), Hasan Mahmud, and Tanzim Hasan Sakib. Expect slower balls, cutters, and hard lengths in the middle overs.
  • Young pace options: Nahid Rana brings energy and extra bounce, useful on a surface that can sit up if the ball is new.

UAE’s key options:

  • Top order and leadership: Muhammad Waseem (captain) as tone-setter; Alishan Sharafu and Asif Khan as strong boundary-hitters in the powerplay and early middle overs.
  • Wicketkeeping and stability: Rahul Chopra offers neat glovework and strike rotation.
  • Seam options: Muhammad Jawadullah and Saghir Khan to attack the stumps and take pace off when needed.

Why this series mattered for Bangladesh

Two games can’t answer everything, but they can reveal a lot. With Pakistan next on the calendar for five T20Is, the Tigers needed clarity on four things:

  • Who partners Litton at the top—Soumya’s experience or Tanzid’s upside?
  • How to structure the middle—Towhid Hridoy’s role as anchor-finisher, and whether Shamim Hossain closes innings or floats earlier.
  • Whether Mahedi Hasan’s overs fit better in the powerplay or as spin choke in overs 7–14.
  • How to handle death overs without Mustafizur after the first match—does Hasan Mahmud step into the 18th–20th slot, or does Sakib take the tough overs?

The UAE’s checklist was different, but just as real. They needed to test:

  • Waseem’s dual role—free-scoring opener and captain—without dulling his natural aggression.
  • Middle-over stability against higher-ranked opposition; can Sharafu and Asif Khan manage tempo when the ball slows?
  • Death bowling under lights; avoiding the full toss trap when dew turns the ball slick.

Tactics you could spot from the couch

Powerplay plans: Bangladesh usually like one aggressive opener and one player who can run twos and keep strike rotating. Litton can do both. If Soumya starts, he’ll look square of the wicket early; if it’s Tanzid, expect lofts down the ground. UAE will hunt early wickets with Jawadullah’s left-arm angle and Waseem’s aggressive field placements—two slips for a couple of balls wouldn’t be surprising if the new ball moved.

Middle overs: This is where Sharjah changes character. The surface often grips just enough for off-spin and cutters. Mahedi’s nagging lengths and Shamim’s rapid fielding save runs here. UAE’s answer is to target the shorter square boundary and force the bowlers off their lengths. Asif Khan, in particular, is at his best when he can clear midwicket early and force the captain to change the field.

Death overs: With Mustafizur in the first game, Bangladesh had that left-arm variation—pace-off yorkers and wide angles. Without him, they needed more planning: lines outside the hitting arc, wider fields, and slower bouncers. UAE’s finishers like Waseem and Asif thrive on predictable pace. Anything in the slot disappears at Sharjah.

Match-ups that promised a swing either way

  • Mustafizur Rahman vs Muhammad Waseem (1st T20I): swing and angles against raw power. First two overs set the tone.
  • Mahedi Hasan vs Alishan Sharafu: off-spin into the right-hander’s arc. Risk-reward shot selection defines this phase.
  • Hasan Mahmud vs Asif Khan at the death: if Asif is in at the end, the yorker length has to be dead-on.

Form pointers without the fluff

Bangladesh came in with a core that has played a lot of T20Is together the past two seasons. Their batting is deeper than it used to be, and their spin options are more flexible. The potential wobble is finishing overs when Mustafizur sits out. For the UAE, the confidence of lifting the Gulf T20 Championship in December 2024 mattered. Winning a trophy—even regional—sets habits: strong starts, calm chases, and sharper fielding routines.

What the captains had on their minds

Litton Das had two jobs: keep a cool read on the pitch and ensure batting roles don’t blur. He’s usually at his best when he’s busy—talking to bowlers, changing fields, and keeping the scoring rate moving as a batter. If he got sucked into one job, the other could drift. That’s where Mahedi’s vice-captaincy helped—he’s a natural in-the-ear communicator for bowlers.

For Waseem, the call was simple but tricky: attack early with the bat but pick the right overs to push. He loves the straight boundaries in Sharjah and uses the crease well against pace-off. As captain, the bigger test was resource management—saving an over from his best bowler for Litton’s entry point or Towhid’s late surge.

Conditions and pitch: what Sharjah usually does in May

Heat all day, warm by evening. The pitch tends to start true and lose a touch of pace as the game goes on. If there’s dew, it helps chasing because the ball skids on and catching gets awkward. Captains think about bowling first if they sniff moisture, but it’s not automatic—if you have a bowling attack built on grip and change-ups, you might still want runs on the board and scoreboard pressure.

Fielding becomes a real factor here. Singles are easy if you hit the deep pockets, so boundary-saving dives matter. The teams that win at Sharjah often stop four extra twos in the outfield. That’s eight runs you don’t notice until the last over.

Possible shapes of the XIs

We didn’t get official playing XIs ahead of time, but the cores were clear.

  • Bangladesh core: Litton Das (c), Soumya Sarkar/Tanzid Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan (vc), Hasan Mahmud, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman (1st T20I), plus flexible picks depending on balance, with Nahid Rana in the pace mix.
  • UAE core: Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Asif Khan, Rahul Chopra (wk), Muhammad Jawadullah, Saghir Khan, with additional batting and spin options to round out the XI.

Selection pressure points

  • Bangladesh’s No. 3 and No. 6: do they prefer stability up top and firepower late, or the other way around?
  • UAE’s fifth bowler: how they cover overs 13–17 if one specialist has an off day.
  • Keeping Mustafizur fresh: using him in short bursts up front versus holding one over for the 20th in the first game.

How India could watch, step by step

  • Open the FanCode app on mobile or use the website on your browser.
  • Search for the series by team names—type UAE vs Bangladesh.
  • Pick the live match card when it appears. If a pass is required, complete the purchase in-app.
  • For TV screens, use casting from your phone or open the app on a compatible smart TV.
  • Set a reminder for 8:30 PM IST. If you join late, use the timeline to jump to key moments.

What success looked like for each side

Bangladesh weren’t chasing style points. They needed repeatable plans. If Litton could set a base, Hridoy and Shamim could push the score above par. With the ball, Bangladesh needed at least two reliable slower-ball options at the death, especially once Mustafizur stepped out after the opener.

The UAE wanted a hard, punchy powerplay and a calm middle. If Waseem got going, the innings would flow around him. If he fell early, someone had to absorb pressure and bat into the 15th over. Their bowling plan was all about denying pace in the hitting zones and pushing batters wide.

Little things that decide T20s at Sharjah

  • Boundary count vs dot-ball pressure: teams that win here usually trade a couple of dots for the extra boundary each over.
  • Captain’s use of spin right after powerplay: two tight overs can flip momentum.
  • Fielding energy: saving eight to ten runs across the innings is often the real difference.

Why Indian fans still tuned in despite no TV

There’s a pull to compact, mid-week T20s that start right in prime time. Even without a TV broadcast, the stories were compelling—new captaincy for Bangladesh, Waseem’s return as UAE captain, a prep window before a bigger series, and the high-variance chaos Sharjah tends to offer under lights. For many fans, it doubled as a scouting exercise before Bangladesh’s longer assignment against Pakistan.

Context beyond the scoreboard

For Bangladesh, every T20 now slots into a bigger plan: stack roles, lock a death-bowling blueprint, and get the top order settled. For the UAE, it’s about regular top-tier exposure. Winning the Gulf T20 Championship in December 2024 was a boost; backing it up against a stronger, deeper side is how you test whether the fundamentals hold up when the margin for error shrinks.

Two matches won’t rewrite rankings, but they do reset expectations. You find out who handles pressure at 9:15 PM under the Sharjah lights, who can land a slower-ball yorker when the ball is wet, and who keeps running hard twos in the 18th over. That’s the stuff coaches remember when they pick XIs for the next big tour.

For anyone who missed the action live, the main takeaways stand on their own: night games in Sharjah reward smart batting in the powerplay, disciplined spin in the middle, and calm death bowling. Bangladesh tested their leadership change under real lights. The UAE measured themselves against higher-ranked opposition. And Indian fans, once again, leaned on streaming to follow a short series that punched above its weight.