Harpreet Singh, the highest run-scorer in India’s domestic T20 competition, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, made his international debut for the UAE against Nepal on Monday (April 20).
Harpreet was among the five cricketers recently granted UAE citizenship through naturalisation, along with Khuzaima Tanveer, Ajay Kumar, Akshdeep Nath and Adeeb Usmani. This made the five of them eligible to play international cricket for the UAE, with all but Kumar making their debut in the first T20I against Nepal.
The UAE are on a white-ball tour of Nepal, where they are scheduled to play two T20Is and three ODIs; the latter a tri-series involving Oman as part of the World Cup League 2. All five aforementioned players are part of the 17-man squad on the white-ball tour.
Harpreet didn’t have the best of debuts for the UAE, however, falling to Sandeep Lamichhane for two off seven. Akshdeep, on the other hand, played an important eight-ball 17 knock as the visitors started the tour with a six-wicket win (via DLS method).
1st T20I, Nepal vs United Arab Emirates
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Who are Harpreet Singh and Akshdeep Nath, Indian domestic players who made their UAE debut against Nepal?
Harpreet Singh was one of the two players who had previously played domestic cricket in India to make their international debut for the UAE against Nepal on Monday. Akshdeep Nath, a middle-order batter from Uttar Pradesh, who played in the IPL for Gujarat Lions, Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, also made his UAE debut. He played 51 first-class, 85 List A and 86 T20s, scoring 2659, 2704 and 1310 runs, respectively. He also won the 2012 U19 World Cup with India.
Harpreet is notably the top scorer in the history of SMAT, with 2968 runs in 100 matches at 37.56, while striking at 126.56, for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh from 2010 to 2025. He has been part of five IPL seasons, playing for Punjab Kings, Pune Warriors India and Kolkata Knight Riders. He has also featured in 86 first-class and 96 List A games in a professional career that started in 2008, scoring 5403 and 3223 runs, respectively.
Harpreet was the victim of a case of mistaken identity in 2017 on the day of the IPL auction, when widespread media reports mistook him for Harmeet Singh, who was then detained for driving a car on a railway platform and later went on to play international cricket for the USA.
