Oman captain champion, Aqib Ilyas, has urged his team to remain calm and not be afraid of Australia as they get ready for the ICC T20 World Cup in Barbados.
After a tough match against Namibia, Ilyas has told his team that they should approach the Australian game the way they would any other match and this is so even as Australia are looking to win trophies all over the world after their recent victories in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) and ODI World Cup.
The Oman captain talked about the psychological aspect of cricket saying it was important to recognize that Australia is a big team but not allow it affect their performance.
He feels that conditions in Barbados, characterized by changeable weather and potentially difficult pitches, may even things up between these sides. The Oman captain who bowls both leg spin and off spin believes that this favors Oman more especially given Australia’s potential weakness when batting against spin bowling.
“Once you step into the field, there is no big name, there is no one bigger than you at the field. It’s another game for us and we don’t think that we are going to play someone extraordinary,” Ilyas said during the pre-match presentation.
He mentioned that both teams have made it onto qualifications’ list thus indicating an equal chance for Oman to compete against Australia on equal grounds.
“I don’t have to go and tell them as a captain that you are going to face [Mitchell] Starc. Already it comes to your mind when you are playing some top bowlers or top cricketers. So it’s been very positive from the management [and] also from the coach, he said we don’t even take their names – it’s just a team that has come and still they are at the same level what we are doing. We have also qualified, they have also qualified one team is going to be champion so it doesn’t make much difference, though we respect them [and] what they have [done] in the past. That is why they are name as world champion,” added the Oman captain.
He said that the last match at the Kensington oval was challenging for them because of how low and turning a ball could get. [Australia] had some good player against spin before like [Steven] Smith and [Marnus] Labuschagne but now I don’t think they have many. They look to hit big. Everyone tries to go for sixes but every day it is not the same day and if the same wicket is there, maybe it can be a problem for them,” Ilyas said.
Respect for Australian team was expressed by Ilyas, but he kept his focus on the possibility of Oman learning from that match and even teaching Australia some lessons. “Of course they have good players in their team after the game, which we can learn much from. However it might be that they are also able to learn one or two things about us”, concluded Oman’s captain.
