MUSCAT: Seasoned campaigner Zeeshan Maqsood will lead Oman in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup to be co-hosted by the Sultanate with the United Arab Emirates in October.
Aqib Illyas will be the vice-captain and the squad includes prolific batsman Jatinder Singh.
Other members of the 15-member squad are Khawar Ali, Mohammad Nadeem, Ayaan Khan, Suraj Kumar, Sandeep Goud, Nester Dhamba, Kaleemullah, Bilal Khan, Naseem Khushi, Sufyan Mehmood, Fayyaz Butt and Khurram Khan.
Former Sri Lanka Test star Duleep Mendis is the Oman head coach and Mazhar Saleem Khan
is the assistant coach.
Placed in Group B of the first round, co-hosts Oman are targeting a top-two spot to enter the Super 12 stage in the World Cup.
Oman had registered a win in their debut ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2016 first round in India.
This edition, Oman will host Bangladesh, Scotland and Papua New Guinea in the Group B with a home advantage at the Al Amerat ground.
Oman are focused on bettering their previous record of one victory at the World Cup.
“We are quite confident of making it to the Super 12. We have defeated both Scotland and PNG in the past and there is no reason to believe we cannot do it again. Although you can’t take any side lightly in a T20 game, playing on our own soil certainly adds to our confidence,” Oman coach Duleep Mendis said earlier.
After a strong show against Ranji Trophy giants Mumbai, the Sultanate team is next up to host Sri Lanka for two T20 friendly matches before the World Cup on October 7 and 9.
Bangladesh is the top-ranked team in the group and Oman hope to take the second spot over Scotland and Papua New Guinea to progress into the Super 12.
The World Cup will begin on October 17 with Oman taking on Papua New Guinea in their first match.
Top test for Oman will be against Bangladesh on October 19 and the hosts wrap up their first round fixture with another tough challenge against Scotland.
WCL EXPERIENCE
Oman will also host the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 series, the first involving Nepal and the USA for six ODIs taking place between September 13 and 20 . The second will see Oman welcome PNG and Scotland between September 25 and October 2. Each team will contest four matches each during each series with a maximum of eight points available as qualification to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 restarts for League 2.
Currently Oman sit on top of the standings with 16 points after 10 matches, followed by the United States in second place with 12 points from 12 matches after cricket in the competition was stopped due to Covid-19.
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