Oman played their first mega-event as part of the 2024 T20 World Cup last year. And while they couldn’t grab a single win against teams of a stature several times higher than them, they deserved every minute of being treated as equals amongst the twenty teams. The core of Oman’s team that played the World Cup as well as managed a second-place finish in the Asia Cup qualifiers isn’t around. Oman Cricket (OC) stripped them of central contracts as a reprimand for speaking against payment delays, forcing them to leave the country. This has left the side with new players, a handful of them still uncapped in the format. Their most experienced player is captain Jatinder Singh with 64 T20I caps.
For Pakistan, though, it will be easy pickings for their first two points, that is, if they don’t insist on getting outdone by a rookie once more. They have made plenty of changes since their defeat to the USA in the T20 World Cup. And for all it’s worth, it’s an entirely new team with a different mindset. But the Asia Cup will be the challenge where they test if their ‘new way’ of doing things really hits the bull’s-eye.
Team Overview:
Pakistan decided to let go of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in favour of a new firing pair, Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan. The duo has proved they can get the side off to a flying start and make the most of the powerplay. What will, however, bother Pakistan is how they fill the next few spots. They used Fakhar Zaman in the lead-up to the tournament at No.3, and there is no evidence suggesting they won’t do it again, even though Fakhar has been struggling with scoring for a while now.
Many think bringing Mohammad Haris back to the top order might solve Pakistan’s problems, but that would disturb the balance that Fakhar brings with him.
Another quandary for Pakistan is how they will shape their bowling lineup. Mike Hesson has shown repeatedly that he wants all-rounders to be central to the team formation. In the Asia Cup squad, Pakistan have as many as five all-rounder options, and at least three of them are bound to be part of the starting XI. During the tri-series, Pakistan stuck to playing a specialist spinner, one fast-bowling and as many spin all-rounder, and two pacers. They eventually settled on playing both Sufiyan Muqeem and Abrar Ahmed together in the final, but did so by benching Haris Rauf, a move they aren’t likely to repeat in more high-stakes games.
Head-to-Head Matches:
Pakistan and Oman have never played each other in any format.
Weather and Pitch Report:
Indian spinners shared six wickets between them during the game against UAE in Dubai the other night. Dubai generally has plenty on offer for spinners. However, batters will have something to work with here as well. Indian batters gunned down a 60-run target in under five overs, and while that had much to do with their brilliance, Dubai can still be expected to give batters some help.
Prediction:
Pakistan are definitely the favourites to bag some early points as well as a morale boost ahead of their big game against India on Sunday.
Where to Watch:
Pakistan: PTV Sports, Tapmad, Myco
India: Sony Sports Network, Sony Liv app
UAE and MENA: CricLife Max via eLife TV and Switch TV, StarzPlay
Australia: Kayo Sports
Bangladesh: Gazi TV, Toffee, Tapmad
