Skipper Sultan confident of Oman gaining from UAE training camp
The national team, who are preparing for the World T20, will depart for Dubai on November 5 and the camp, which is being held under the auspices of the International Cricket Council, will last till December 1
T.K. MOHANDOSS
MUSCAT: As Oman National Cricket Team, who have qualified for the World Twenty20 to be held in India (March-April 2016), gears up for their first major external preparatory camp in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman’s captain Sultan Ahmed is brimming with confidence.
“Since we had one month break after the ICC World T20 qualifiers in Ireland and Scotland, the team is working very hard,” said Sultan, who believes Oman will certainly leave a mark on the world stage.
The national team will depart for the UAE (Dubai) on November 5 and the camp, which is being held under the auspices of the International Cricket Council (ICC), will last till December 1.
“All the 20 probables will be travelling to the UAE,” said Sultan, who also confirmed that there are few new faces among them.
The list of probables have all the members of the team that played in the qualifiers, while senior star Adnan Ilyas and Bilal Khan also figures in the list.
“There are also some new faces like Swapnil Khadye and Aaqib Ilyas in the team,” said Sultan, who is looking forward to a fruitful camp in the UAE.
The team is scheduled to play ten practice matches, which have been specially arranged by the ICC. Oman will play matches against the UAE, Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan and Hong Kong.
“We will play a two-day game against UAE, a three-day game against Afghanistan, a one-day game against PNG and six T20 matches against Hong Kong and Afghanistan,” said Sultan.
“It will be a great experience for all of us, before we go for yet another camp in India next month,” he said.
“The sessions here were also worthy enough for each and every one of us and every single player is fully fit,” said Sultan heaping praise on coach Duleep Mendis.
“He (Mendis) is doing his best to keep us in good fettle. He put us through hard training sessions under trainer Nagendra Prasad and fielding coach Vijay Bharadwaj from India,” said Sultan, who further stated that Vijay will also join them in the UAE.
“Our fast bowlers will also have a special session with former Sri Lankan pacer Rumesh Ratnayake with former Indian spinner Sunil Joshi joining us in India,” he added.
On the World Cup prospects, Sultan said that we have the capability and class to do well.
“Our performance in the qualifiers was ample proof. I know we can’t be overconfident, but we do have the confidence to make an impression,” Sultan stressed.
He went on to say that everything depends on the momentum.
“During the qualifiers, each of the players contributed to their best, and the first two good performances gave us the momentum to flourish in the tournament. I expect the same type of momentum in the Word T20 as well. It will indeed be a total team work,” said Sultan.
“So far with Oman Cricket blessings, every aspect of the training is going to perfection and each one of us our fully fit physically,” he said while also referring to the Asia Cup to be held in Bangladesh in February 2016.
“This tournament, which is being held in T20 format for the first time, will also provide us that extra moment of preparation,” he said.
Asian Test nations like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh will send their A sides with three players mandatory from the senior side, while associate nations like Nepal, Afghanistan and Oman will play their first teams.
Oman probables: Sultan Ahmed (captain), Aamir Kaleem (vice-captain), Ajay Lalcheta, Zeeshan Maqsood, Jatinder Singh, Zeeshan Siddiqui, Vaibhav Wategoankar, Amir Ali, Mehran Khan, Munis Ansari, Sufyan Mahmood, Yousuf Rahim Baksh, Rajesh Ranpura, Khawar Ali, Mohammed Nadeem, Bilal Khan, Adnan Ilyas, Aaqib Ilyas, Swapnil Khadye and Rohit Malik.