Maqsood to lead oman
Oman unveil 17-member squad for Cricket World Cup Qualifier
Muscat - Experienced allrounder Zeeshan Maqsood will lead Oman at the forthcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier, which will be held in Zimbabwe from June 18-July 9.
Oman Cricket unveiled the 17member national squad at the Oman Cricket Academy Grounds in Al Amerat on Wednesday with the skipper expressing confidence in the team’s hopes to qualify for the World Cup.
“We are ready for the challenge and it’s a big opportunity for us to showcase our potential. We have the experience of playing against all the teams except for West Indies and Zimbabwe. We have to play to our best abilities and hopefully we can achieve the desired results,” said Maqsood.
The ten-nation Qualifier will decide the remaining two spots for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India 2023. Oman, who are aiming to qualify for the World Cup for the first time, will be heading to Durban in South Africa for a preparatory camp on May 28 where they will play five practice games before heading to Zimbabwean capital of Harare on June 11.
Oman’s 17-member squad
will be trimmed to 15 for the Qualifier after the trip to Durban.
Flamboyant batter Aqib Ilyas has been named Maqsood’s deputy with the squad consisting of a majority of all-rounders.
Leg-spinner Samay Shrivastav and all-rounder Rafiullah are the only uncapped players in the squad.
The batting responsibilities will be on the shoulders of Jatinder Singh, Kashyap Prajapati, Aqib Ilyas, Shoaib Khan, Zeeshan Maqsood, Mohammed Nadeem, Ayaan Khan and Sandeep Goud.
The bowling attack will be spearheaded by left-arm pacer
Bilal Khan and the lanky Kaleemullah with Rafiullah, Fayyaz Butt, Nadeem, Goud and Shoaib in support roles as medium pacers.
The spin department will depend on the guiles and the magic of Jay Odedra, Shrivastav, Maqsood, Ilyas and Ayaan.
With an average age of 32, the team will rely on the experience, which had come good during the ICC World Cricket League Division 2 where Oman finished second in the seven-nation tournament that featured 36 ODIS over the past four years. Oman squad for World Cup Qualifier (Final 15 after Durban trip): Zeeshan Maqsood (captain), Aqib Ilyas (vice-captain), Jatinder Singh, Kashyap Prajapati, Shoaib Khan, Mohammed Nadeem, Sandeep Goud, Ayaan Khan, Suraj Kumar, Adeel Shafique, Naseem Khushi, Bilal Khan, Kaleemullah, Fayyaz Butt, Jay Odedra, Samay Shrivastav, Rafiullah.