Oman captain Jatinder Singh urges his team to play 'fearless and positive cricket' in their tough T20I World Cup group. He lauded coach Duleep Mendis's role. Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards is also excited for their tournament fixtures.
Oman skipper urges fearless cricket
Oman men's cricket team skipper Jatinder Singh echoed the need to play fearless cricket in the upcoming ICC Men's T20I World Cup starting on February 7. Oman are in Group B, where they will clash with Ireland, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Australia. The top two teams from the group will enter the next stage of Super 8.
Speaking during the Captains' Media Briefing in Colombo on Thursday, Jatinder Singh said, "I believe we are in a group which is the toughest for associate teams. We have a strong team, but we believe we have to play fearless and positive cricket. That is how we can go to the next round." Duleep Mendis is the head coach of Oman's men's cricket team, and Jatinder acknowledged his work in taking Oman cricket to new levels. "Regarding great Duleep, he's a wonderful coach and a wonderful mentor for our team, working for so many years, since 2012, he's with the Oman team. He's done a wonderful job, and he's the main guy who knows these wickets very well. All the info he has will work for us," Singh said, according to ICC.
Netherlands captain excited for World Cup fixtures
The Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards showed excitement for the Dutch team's fixture in the tournament as his side is placed in Group A with defending champions India, Pakistan, Namibia and the USA. "We're just obviously very excited. I think all the groups are strong in their own right. Playing against India at Ahmedabad, that's obviously going to be quite a big event. The boys have prepared well, and we're just ready for this first game and getting into it," he said.
Edwards said, "The World Cup in India and Sri Lanka is very exciting. All World Cups are exciting. For us, our first goal is to get through that first stage, so focusing on those first four games."
Reacting to his chances to win the trophy, Edwards said, "You've got to win those first three or four games to give yourself a chance."
Squads
Oman Squad
Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Mohammad Nadeem, Vinayak Shukla(w), Jiten Ramanandi, Jatinder Singh(c), Ashish Odedara, Shafiq Jan, Sufyan Mehmood, Shakeel Ahmed, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Hassnain Shah, Jay Odedra
Netherlands Squad
Scott Edwards (c), Colin Ackermann, Noah Croes, Bas de Leede, Aryan Dutt, Fred Klaassen, Kyle Klein, Michael Levitt, Zach Lion-Cachet, Max O'Dowd, Logan van Beek, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren, Saqib Zulfiqar. (ANI)
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