Kerala’s Alishan Sharafu finishes as UAE’s top-scorer in T20 World Cup

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) ended their campaign in the T20 World Cup 2026 with a six-wicket defeat to South Africa. The Proteas chased down the UAE's total of 122/6 in just 13.2 overs.

The UAE lost three games and won one in Group D, after failing to progress to the Super Eight stage.

However, there was some delight for Malayalis in the Emirates as top-order batter Alishan Sharafu, with his roots in Kerala, finished as the UAE's top run-getter in the World Cup.

The 23-year-old right-hander finished the event with 145 runs from four innings at an average of 36.3. In the group stage, Sharafu scored more runs than a handful of international stars, namely Finn Allen (137 runs) and Glenn Phillips of New Zealand (119), Quinton de Kock of SA (118) and Will Jacks of England (110), among others.

In the UAE's last group match, Sharafu scored 45 off 38. He made 55 against New Zealand and 40 against Afghanistan earlier in the World Cup.

Sharafu has his roots in Pazhayangadi, Kannur district, in north Kerala. India's Sanju Samson is the most famous Malayali involved in the T20 World Cup.

In the 2022 World Cup, Sharafu made his T20 World Cup debut for the UAE against Namibia in a group match, which was the nation's first win in the event. He made four runs in that match. Across the two T20 World Cups, Sharafu has 149 runs, making it the most by a Malayali in the event.

C P Rizwan, who famously captained the UAE to their first win in the T20 World Cup, made 45 runs in the 2022 edition. Interestingly, pacer S Sreesanth managed 20 runs with the bat in the inaugural 2007 edition, which India won.

Though Sanju was part of India's T20 World Cup-winning squad in 2024, he did not play a match. In the current edition, Sanju featured against Namibia, making 22 runs.