Oman Cricket selectors have announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming Asian Cricket Council Asia Cup Qualifiers from Aug 28th – Sep 06th, 2018 in Malaysia. The selectors also announced a new captain in Zeeshan Maqsood with Sultan Ahmed not being part of the squad following Oman’s disappointing finish in World Cricket League Division 2 in Namibia in Feb 2018.
Oman will be competing against Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Singapore and Host’s Malaysia in a single round-robin format played in 50-overs to claim the one qualification spot into the main draw of 2018 Asia Cup, to be played in UAE from Sep 15th – 28th, 2018.
If Oman do qualify, they will get the opportunity to play against India and Pakistan in the group stage of 2018 Asia Cup.
The squad will be travelling to Sri Lanka prior to travelling to Malaysia and will play few practice matches to acclimatise with the conditions, which would be sort of similar in Malaysia in terms of weather and pitch conditions, which usually assist slow bowling a lot.
Oman squad for Asia Cup qualifiers:Â Zeeshan Maqsood (Captain), Khawar Ali, Jatinder Singh, Aaqib Ilyas, Vaibhav Wategaonkar, Muhammad Nadeem, Mehran Khan, Muhammad Naseem, Jay Odedra, Bilal Khan, Ahmed Fayyaz Butt, Kaleemullah, Sufyan Mahmood, Ajay Lalcheta and Suraj Kumar
Oman Asia Cup qualifiers schedule:
Aug 29 2018: Nepal vs Oman at Bayuemas Oval
Aug 30 2018: Malaysia vs Oman at UKM Oval
Sep 01 2018: Oman vs Singapore at Kinrara Oval
Sep 02 2018: Hong Kong vs Oman at Kinrara Oval
Sep 04 2018: UAE vs Oman at Bayuemas Oval
Sep 06 2018 (Subject to qualification): Final at Kinrara Oval