ASIA CUP, 2025
Oman will bank on Jatinder Singh’s experience to steady their new-look side © Getty
The last 12 months for Oman have been nothing short of a roller-coaster ride. Their squad holds a new look to it from the one that took part in the T20 World Cup last year with only three players remaining from that 15-man squad. A pay dispute between Oman Cricket and its players over the distribution of the prize money received from the mega event led to the walkout of 11 players at the start of the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup in October 2024. Two of these 11 included then skipper Aqib Ilyas and former skipper Zeeshan Maqsood.
With these 11 players contracts terminated, a new squad was assembled around the experienced Jatinder Singh. In the ICC Cricket World Cup League Two, Oman have won nine out of 12 games with Jatinder at the helm. But in the shortest format of the game, Oman haven’t found it easy going since the overhaul. In the last 11 months, they have played 11 games, won three and lost eight.
The onus falls on Jatinder and the other senior players in Aamir Kaleem, Mohammad Nadeem and Shakeel Ahmed. Aryan Bisht seems to be a promising talent at 20 years of age but hasn’t debuted for Oman in T20Is yet while Vinayak Shukla is their preferred wicketkeeper down the order and has a healthy strike-rate of 146.5 with the bat.
Legspinner Samay Shrivastava has picked up 15 T20I wickets in as many outings with a decent strike-rate of 16.8 and the onus of the spin bowling attack will fall on his shoulders. 42-year-old Nadeem will look to provide added stability to a middle-order and also provide much needed breakthroughs while rolling over his arm.
Oman have been drawn in to a group consisting of heavyweights India and Pakistan and a chance of making it to the Super Fours seems bleak even before they start. Nevertheless, motivation should be sky high for the Omanis knowing that a chance to upset a continental giant could present itself with the entire world watching.
Squad: Jatinder Singh (c), Ashish Odedara, Aamir Kaleem, Karan Sonavale, Hassnain Shah, Nadeem Khan, Mohammad Nadeem, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Hammad Mirza (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Aryan Bisht, Shakeel Ahmed, Samay Shrivastava, Mohammad Imran, Sufyan Yousaf, Zikriya Islam, Faisal Shah
Probable XI: Jatinder Singh (c), Aamir Kaleem, Ashish Odedara , Hammad Mirza, Mohammad Nadeem, Aryan Bisht, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Hassnain Shah, Shakeel Ahmed, Samay Shrivastava
The new look Oman team did play in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 back in May and if that is anything to go by, the openers of Jatinder Singh and Aamir Kaleem will provide the foundation for the batting innings while the likes of Hammad Mirza, Mohammad Nadeem and Aryan Bisht will have to tonk the heavy ball.
On the slow tracks in the UAE, Oman come in with a plethora of spin options with as many as four in their probable XI mentioned above. To add, the XI also consists of three medium pacers to provide enough balance and depth in the field with 33-year-old Sufyan Mehmood having to lead the attack.
Keep an eye on: Jatinder Singh
The Oman captain is by far the most experienced player in the camp. With 1,704 runs in ODIs and 1,399 in T20Is, Oman will be banking on him to lead from the front at the top of the order. In the last T20I series Oman played earlier this year in February, he notched up 136 runs in three matches which included two fluent half centuries in decent time. Oman will be banking on him again to set a solid foundation for the rest of the middle-order.
Marquee Match: Oman face UAE on September 15 in Abu Dhabi. The two sides have played each other nine times in the format with UAE edging it 5-4 over the last 10 years. Three of those games came in 2024 so the two sides are quite familiar with the other. It remains to be seen how a fresh look Oman side will play out against the UAE but both Gulf countries would definitely not want to give an inch to the other.
Giant Killing Potential: The game against Pakistan on September 12 is Oman’s best chance of showing that they belong with the big boys. Despite Pakistan having won the tri-series last week, there were still jitters given to them by UAE, which could give Oman the confidence that they could cause a big upset on the big stage.
Full group stage schedule
September 12: vs Pakistan, Dubai
September 15: vs UAE, Abu Dhabi
September 19: vs India, Abu Dhabi
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