UAE bats first against New Zealand at T20 World Cup. Pakistan faces US

CHENNAI, India (AP) — The United Arab Emirates won the toss and chose to bat first against New Zealand in a tough Group D game at cricket's T20 World Cup on Tuesday.

New Zealand had already crossed the first hurdle by beating Afghanistan at the same venue in a group that also features 2024 finalist South Africa and Canada.

“It’s a tough group but we are ready for that challenge,” UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem said at the toss.

On the eve of its opening game, UAE sent batter Muhammad Zohaib back home for what it called disciplinary reasons on Monday and the Emirates Cricket Board said it will provide more details "in due course.”

New Zealand made no changes and captain Mitchell Santner said he hoped the red-soiled wicket will have some bounce to suit his three fast bowlers.

Earlier at New Delhi, Bas de Leede’s all-round show earned the Netherlands a seven-wicket win over Namibia in Group A.

De Leede grabbed 2-20 as the Dutch used eight bowlers and Namibia scored 156-8. De Leede then smashed four sixes and five boundaries and guided his team to 159-3 in 18 overs with an unbeaten 72 off 48 balls.

In the night game on Tuesday, Pakistan will take on the United States in Group A.

Pakistan escaped with a narrow three-wicket win over the Netherlands on Day 1.

The U.S. has happy memories against Pakistan from the last tournament with a sensational win in the Super Over tiebreaker in Texas in 2024.

Pakistan has reversed its decision to boycott the T20 World Cup game against India and was directed to “take the field” in Colombo on Sunday.

Lineups:

UAE: Aryansh Sharma, Muhammad Waseem (captain), Alishan Sharafu, Mayank Kumar, Sohaib Khan, Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Arfan, Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Rohid.

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (captain), Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Netherlands' Bas de Leede, left, runs out Namibia's Ruben Trumpelmann during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Namibia and Netherlands in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Namibia's Ruben Trumpelmann throws his bat up in the air after losing his wicket during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Namibia and Netherlands in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2026.(AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Netherlands' Bas de Leede, left, runs out Namibia's Ruben Trumpelmann during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Namibia and Netherlands in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Netherlands' Michael Levitt hits a ball for four runs during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Namibia and Netherlands in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

New Zealand's players stand up for the national anthems before the start of the during the T20 World Cup cricket match between New Zealand and United Arab Emirates in Chennai, India, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

United Arab Emirates's players stand up for the national anthems before the start of the during the T20 World Cup cricket match between New Zealand and United Arab Emirates in Chennai, India, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych will be allowed to wear a black armband in competition at the Milan Cortina Games, the International Olympic Committee said Tuesday, but not the helmet he wanted to commemorate the lives of some athletes from his country who were killed in the war with Russia.

The IOC called the move a compromise.

“I think what we’ve tried to do is to address his desires with compassion and understanding,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said Tuesday. “He has expressed himself on social media and in the training and, as you know, we will not stop him expressing himself in press conferences, as he leaves competition in the mixed zone and elsewhere. We feel that this is a good compromise in the situation.”

Heraskevych said the IOC told him Monday night that he could not wear the helmet that shows the faces of several Ukrainian athletes who have been killed since 2022, because Olympic officials decided it broke the rule banning political statements.

Heraskevych — who was fourth at last year's world championships and is generally considered a medal hopeful at these games — has more training runs scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, and he is expected to compete in the Olympic men's skeleton race Thursday.

It was not immediately clear if he would wear the armband. The IOC also pointed out that it has banned armbands in the past, but is willing to make an exception in Heraskevych's case. The move by the IOC doesn't mean all athletes can wear armbands, and if Heraskevych chooses to do so, it can not include any text, Adams said.

“We didn’t violate any rules, and it should be allowed for me to compete with this helmet,” Heraskevych told The Associated Press on Monday, before Ukrainian sliding officials met with a representative from the IOC and learned the helmet would not be allowed. “I cannot understand how this helmet hurt anyone. It’s to pay tribute to athletes and some of them were medalists in the Youth Olympic Games. That means they’re Olympic family. They were part of this Olympic family, so I cannot understand they would find a reason why not.”

Figure skater Dmytro Sharpar, a onetime Youth Olympic Games teammate of Heraskevych, is on the helmet, as are boxer Pavlo Ishchenko, hockey player Oleksiy Loginov and others. Some, Heraskevych said, were killed on the front lines; at least one died while trying to distribute aid to fellow Ukrainians.

Even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy weighed in on Heraskevych’s quest, with a post on his Instagram page saying that he wanted to thank the slider for “reminding the world the price of our struggle.”

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych arrives at the finish during a men's skeleton training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych starts a men's skeleton training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych starts a men's skeleton training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)