Friday 26 / July / 2024
Muscat: Oman national cricket team, led by Sultan Ahmed, reached Dhaka on Wednesday evening after having a purposeful training camp in north Indian city of Dharamsala.
The team, accompanied by Oman Cricket General Secretary Madhu Jesrani, reached the Bangladesh capital city via New Delhi and were in good spirits ahead of the 13th edition of Asia Cup. The Asia Cup qualifiers are scheduled to begin on February 19.
Four teams — Oman, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates — will take part in the qualifiers until February 22, with the winners progressing to the main round (beginning on February 24) which will feature hosts Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Afghanistan plays the UAE in the first match of the qualifiers on Friday, while Oman takes on Hong Kong in the second match of the day at the Fatullah Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium.
To be recalled, Afghanistan had qualified for the main round of Asia Cup in the last edition.
Meanwhile, International Cricket Council (ICC) has also announced the warm-up schedule for teams taking part in the World T20 beginning in India on March 8.
Oman has been scheduled to play Scotland on March 4 and Afghanistan on March 6, both matches to be played at Mohali.
However, if Afghanistan, Hong Kong or Oman reach the second round of the Asia Cup, then their warm-up matches will be rescheduled accordingly.
Meanwhile, soon after reaching Dhaka, Oman skipper Sultan Ahmed speaking to Times Sport expressed that the team was in good spirits and raring to go.
"We had a good camp in Dharamsala and it gave us good exposure to various playing conditions and we are hoping to do well in the Asia Cup qualifiers," said Sultan.
The Oman skipper, however, stated that there will not be many warm-up matches before they open their campaign against Hong Kong on February 19.
Oman had played three warm-up matches at Dharamsala against the Himachal Pradesh Ranji team. Oman though lost the first game after a tiring trip from Delhi to Dharamsala, improved in the second match before notching a thumping win in the final game.
Oman's Sri Lankan coach Duleep Mendis added to say that the Dharamsala camp helped in erasing certain fears in the mind of the players.
"Before going some of the players were wary of the weather conditions in Dharamsala but after having played there, their fear has been erased," said the coach.
"We may have lost two of the three matches, but I was impressed by the performance of our bowlers, who were exceptional," said Duleep, though stressing that the batting woes still continue.
"Munis Ansari was very good and he also took a hat-trick in the final match, which we won," said Duleep.
"We don't have any warm-up matches and will have training sessions in Dhaka tomorrow evening before the first match on Friday," he signed off.
Asia Cup qualifier schedule (all Oman time):
February 19: Afghanistan vs UAE (11:30am); Hong Kong vs Oman (4pm)
February 20: Afghanistan vs Oman (11:30am)
February 21: UAE vs Hong Kong (4pm)
February 22: Afghanistan vs Hong Kong (11:30 am); UAE vs Oman (4 pm)
ICC warm-up schedule for World T20 (all Oman time):
March 3: Zimbabwe v local side, HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala (1.30pm); Ireland v Hong Kong, HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala (6pm)
March 4: Netherlands v local side, Sector-16, Mohali (1.30pm); Scotland v Oman, IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali (6pm)
March 5: Ireland v Zimbabwe, HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala (1.30pm); Bangladesh v Hong Kong, HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala (6pm)
March 6: Scotland v Netherlands, Sector-16, Mohali (1.30pm); Oman v Afghanistan, IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali (6pm)
March 10: New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (6pm); India v West Indies, Eden Gardens, Kolkata (6pm)
March 12: New Zealand v England, BKC, Mumbai (1.30pm); Pakistan v local side, JU, Kolkata (1.30pm); India v South Africa, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (16pm)
March 13: Australia v West Indies, Eden Gardens, Kolkata (6pm)
March 14: England v local side, BKC, Mumbai (1.30pm); Pakistan v Sri Lanka, Eden Gardens, Kolkata (6pm)
March 15: South Africa v local side, BKC, Mumbai (1.30pm)
