How did they make it?
Oman‘s qualification pathway for the Asia Cup began at the ACC Men’s Premier Cup, played in April last year.
They topped their group table with four wins out of four, finishing ahead of UAE, before defeating Hong Kong by five wickets in the semi-finals. UAE got their revenge on Oman in the final, but both teams had by then secured their place at the Asia Cup along with Hong Kong, who won the third-place playoff.
This will be Oman’s first appearance at this tournament.
Recent results
Oman have travelled all around the world since their appearance in the T20 World Cup last year, where they showed glimpses of promise but ended up winless.
Their form since then has been compromised by their first-choice players being engaged in a pay dispute with their national board, which had not paid them their share of the World Cup prize money.
Oman hosted Netherlands for a T20I series in November last year, and lost 2-1. They then played in the Gulf T20I championship in December 2024, finishing with wins over Bahrain and Qatar but not qualifying for the final. Most recently, they hosted USA for a T20I series in February and lost 3-0.
Key players
The pay dispute is resolved now, but the Asia Cup squad wears a completely different look to the one Oman took to last year’s World Cup, despite the return of some of the veterans. As many as four members of the Asia Cup squad are uncapped.
Against this backdrop, a lot of the team’s run-scoring burden could fall upon experienced opener and captain Jatinder Singh, who has 125 international caps and 3103 runs across formats. How he starts at the top of the order might determine where Oman finish in the tournament.
Among their bowlers, Shakeel Ahmed is bound to play an important role. The left-arm spinner only made his T20I debut in September 2023, but has played 34 matches since then. Control is his biggest asset, which his economy rate of 6.67 reflects.
The 20-year-old Aryan Bisht is an exciting package, a middle-order batter who bowls handy offspin. He has only played two ODIs and is yet to make his T20I debut, but he has shown signs of his potential at junior level, finishing as the second-highest run-getter in the Under-19 World Cup Qualifier Asia Division Two in 2022 while also picking up seven wickets in five games.
Who do they play?
Oman have been placed in Group A. They start their campaign on September 12, when they take on Pakistan in Dubai. They then move to Abu Dhabi for their remaining two matches: against familiar foes UAE on September 15, and India on September 19.
Oman squad
Jatinder Singh (capt), Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla, Sufyan Yousuf, Ashish Odedara, Aamir Kaleem, Mohammed Nadeem, Sufyan Mehmood, Aryan Bisht, Karan Sonavale, Zikriya Islam, Hassnain Shah, Faisal Shah, Muhammed Imran, Nadeem Khan, Shakeel Ahmed, Samay Shrivastava.
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