UAE Achieve Women’s ODI Status After Replacing USA

After replacing the USA in 16th position of the T20I rankings table, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) women’s cricket team opens a new chapter by claiming their ODI status for the forthcoming 2025-29 cycle starting from May 12 onwards. 

Excluding the USA, the other Associate member nations from the 16 teams list, such as Thailand, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Scotland, and the Netherlands, upheld their status, with the UAE being the latest entrant. 

It is to be noted that Thailand and Scotland, which rank in the 11th and 12th place of the T20I rankings, respectively, retained their ODI status after advancing into the Women’s ODI World Cup Qualifier. 

Similar to the UAE, other associate members such as the PNG, and the Netherlands secured their status based on their 13th and 15th positions respectively in their women’s T20I rankings. 

The unique approach from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to evaluate teams on the merit-based progression to play ODI provides valuable opportunities for Associate nations in the 50-over format. 

How did the UAE Women’s Cricket Team receive its ODI Status? 

During the time of the annual rankings update, the UAE dethroned the USA in the list of 16 women’s teams that retained their ICC ODI status. 

This announcement came when the UAE female cricketers were participating in a recently concluded quadrangular T20I series in Bangkok, featuring the host nation, Thailand, along with Hong Kong and Kuwait. Meanwhile, the USA took part in the bilateral series against Zimbabwe, losing the 3-match T20I series by 2-1 and leveling the 2-match ODI series by 1-1. 

However, one of the key reasons behind the USA’s loss of ODI status is due to the succession of disappointing results and missed qualification opportunities in the main ICC events. In other words, the UAE’s strong performance in T20Is, along with the USA’s failure to meet the required criteria, led to the loss of their designation ahead of the new cycle. 

The ICC regulations specify that teams with ODI status should play a minimum of eight ODIs or more in a 3 to 4-year span to either achieve or continue with their international rankings. 

UAE Women’s Team Captain Excited About Gaining ODI Status 

Esha Oza— the UAE Women’s cricket team captain speaks about the entire team’s efforts to attain the highly coveted ODI status: 

“Yes! We always strived to play ODI cricket, and it took several years of hard work. Especially, the first team that played for the UAE women’s cricket is now ready to represent at ODIs. This is a great achievement.

It all started back in 2009 when I was 8 to 9 years old, the women’s team played its first international tournament, and everyone dreamt of playing for the nation. 

Hearty congratulations to every member involved with the Emirates Cricket Board (RCB), who made this possible through their combined effort and uncompromised support. 

It’s a historical moment in UAE women’s cricket to achieve ODI status, and I feel excited about this new chapter,” Ozha said. 

Future of UAE Women’s Cricket Team 

The recently concluded Quadrangular T20I series provided the required competitive exposure to the UAE squad to meet the required demands of the ODI format for the upcoming cycle. 

In addition, the announcement of ODI status guarantees enhancing the growth and standards of women’s cricket in the Emirates by enabling competition against the top-tier teams. 

Most importantly, achieving this significant milestone opens opportunities for increased funding, improved facilities, and highly structured domestic and international fixtures that are essential for the UAE women’s longstanding success in the sport.