Oman, on Wednesday (May 1), announced their 15-member Squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024, scheduled to be played from June 1 to 29. The marquee event will be taking place in the United States and the Caribbean.
Oman have named batting allrounder Aqib Ilyas as their captain for the tournament. He has replaced Zeeshan Maqsood as the Oman captain. While Maqsood has lost the captaincy, he has managed to retain his place in the 15-member World Cup squad.
Maqsood was the vice-captain of Oman when they played the T20 World Cup for the first time in 2016. Later in 2021, the 36-year-old led the team when Oman co-hosted the tournament with UAE. Maqsood has played 65 T20Is so far, scoring 1295 runs and picking 48 wickets.
Oman squad for T20 World Cup 2024:
The onus will be on Aqib Ilyas to lead Oman beyond the group stage for the first time in the T20 World Cup. The 31-year-old has ample T20I experience. He has played 48 T20Is so far, scoring 1176 runs with the help of nine half-centuries in addition to taking 37 wickets.
"I am truly honored to be entrusted with the captaincy," Aqib Ilyas said. "It’s a huge responsibility, and I aim to lead the team to many victories. We are preparing rigorously for the World Cup, and the recent ACC Premier Cup has provided us with invaluable preparation."
Oman have decided against springing too many surprises in their T20 World Cup squad. Eight members of the 2021 World Cup squad have made it to the team for the 2024 edition.
Kashyap Prajapati and Naseem Khushi are likely to open the innings and will be followed by Aqib and Zeeshan at No.3 and No.4 respectively. Wicketkeeper batters Pratik Athavale and Ayaan Khan are expected to take care of the lower order.
Left-arm pacer Bilal Khan will spearhead the attack and will have the support of the likes of Kaleemullah and Fayyaz Butt, as well as the left-arm spinner Shakeel Ahmad. Aqib and Zeeshan are the other spin-bowling options in the team.
Oman in T20 World Cup 2024: Group and schedule:
Oman are in Group B alongside defending champions England, and 2021 champions Australia, Namibia, and Scotland. They will be opening their campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024 on June 2 against Namibia in Barbados.
On June 5, they will be facing the mighty Aussies in Barbados before leaving for Antigua for their last two league games. Their third game is against Scotland on June 9 before they take on England on June 13.
Oman squad:
Aqib Ilyas (c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Kashyap Prajapati, Pratik Athavale (wk), Ayaan Khan, Shoaib Khan, Mohammad Nadeem, Naseem Khushi (wk), Mehran Khan, Bilal Khan, Rafiullah, Kaleemullah, Fayyaz Butt, Shakeel Ahmad. Reserves: Jatinder Singh, Samay Shrivastava, Sufyan Mehmood, Jay Odedra
