Oman hand uncapped Ayaan Khan, Nestor Dhamba a nod for T20 World Cup
The T20WC co-hosts have looked to maintain a blend of promising talents and experienced cricketers in their squad for the tournament, starting October 17.
Their squad led by captain Zeeshan Maqsood has retained mainstays such as Khawar Ali, Aqib Ilyas, Jatinder Singh and Mohammad Nadeem.
There is also a place for paceman Khurram Khan, the ex-UAE quick, who has played 16 ODIs and 3 T20Is at the highest level. Notably, the selectors have picked two uncapped players in Ayaan Khan and Nestor Dhamba.
This will be Oman’s second successive presence at the T20 World Cup and its preliminary round.
They are part of Group B of the initial stage alongside Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea and Scotland, whom they’ll play at their home base Al Amerat on October 17, 19 and 21. Two teams from this group will qualify for the Super 12 stage.
Scotland back experience to reap them rewards at T20 World Cup
Scotland have focused on a wealth of experience, especially the T20 World Cup experience, in picking their squad for the tournament’s upcoming edition in UAE and Oman.
Led by Kyle Coetzer, the Scots have maintained their core, featuring tried and trusted players such as Calum Macleod, Safyaan Sharif, Richie Berrington, Matthew Cross, Ally Evans.
George Munsey, Mark Watt, Josh Davey and Michael Leask are also part of the squad, having all four played the 2016 T20 World Cup in India.
To back these gents, the selectors have named first-time T20 World Cup participants but undoubtedly talented Chris Greaves, Oli Hairs, Chris Sole, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace, Brad Wheal and Dylan Budge.
Scotland are considered one of the favourites to successfully progress from Group B of the preliminary round to secure one of the vacant Super 12 group slots, giving them a rare opportunity to play top-ranked full member nations.
They’ll take on Bangladesh in their opening game on October 17 in Al Amerat, followed by matches against PNG and Oman on October 19 and 21, respectively.
For now, the Scotts have named a provisional 17-man squad, which will be trimmed to 15 on the cut-off date of October 10 with those excluded named as reserves.
Ireland bring back Delany besides naming uncapped Kennedy
Delany has been absent from the T20I side since March 2020 but is back now as Ireland have looked to bolster themselves on the spin front. The 24-year-old cricketer has featured in 23 T20Is for his country with 19 scalps and an economy rate of 7.41.
Given the expected spin-friendly conditions in Oman and UAE, the reinclusion of Delany would be a welcome one for skipper Andrew Balbirnie and his team.
On the other hand, Kennedy is the 22-year-old left-arm spinner who has done reasonably well in domestic T20s to earn his call-up, with 15 scalps from 20 games and an economy rate of only 7.
The provisional squad of 18 will be trimmed to 15 on October 10 cut-off date, and the rest will be named as reserves.
Ireland are part of Group A in the preliminary round. Clubbed alongside the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Namibia, they’ll take on these sides on October 18, 20 and 22, respectively, in Abu Dhabi.
