‘We have to believe we can win against anyone’ – Oman’s Aqib Ilyas hopes to mark return with a bang

Jatinder Singh and Aqib Ilyas. (Photo by HAITHAM AL-SHUKAIRI/AFP via Getty Images)

Aqib Ilyas hopes to hit the ground running on his ODI return as Oman attempt to secure their place at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup for the first time.

The vice-captain became the first player from his country to score an ODI century in February 2020, hitting an unbeaten 109 against Nepal before backing it up two days later with a second ton against USA.

Those scores saw his average soar to 58 but an unfortunate run of injuries means he has played just once in the format since 2021, against Nepal in April, when he could not bat due to another injury sustained in the match.

But Ilyas remains confident heading into the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, with Oman in Group B alongside Ireland, Scotland, Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates, and has no doubt about the importance of his own role.

“As a batter, I have to score runs. Having an average of almost 60 in the last 17 or 18 games is great but that is in the past now and I have to score again. Hopefully, I will get that confidence and if I get runs in the tournament then we have to believe we can win against anyone,” he said.

“It is the same for my bowling, as I am now taking wickets too. We know though that giving our best will take us to a big tournament and the big stage. We believe we have a good chance because we have some good players in the side – Zeeshan Maqsood, Jatinder Singh and then myself coming into the team. We will give everything we have to qualify for the top six and then for the top two,” he added.

Oman know they must finish in the top three in their group to advance to the Super Six, from which the top two will claim the remaining places at ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Their opponents in Zimbabwe are all familiar and Ilyas believes his side can draw confidence from past meetings.

“We have played all of these teams before,” he said. “We did not play an ODI series with Sri Lanka, but we played some 50-over games against them and we won a game and we lost a game.  It was really good because we now have an idea of playing them and we have faced the same bowlers,” he said.

“The good thing is we have played against each other a lot of times and we know how to prepare, there are many slight margins where we lost to them, so we can come up with more positives. We are feeling good for the qualifiers, we are practicing well, there are some great coaches here and the new guys coming in did really well in the Asia Cup qualifiers. They scored really well, the top order clicked and all the bowlers did really well too,” he added.

How they qualified

Oman finished second in the 2019-2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2, their 21 wins from their 36 matches putting them six points behind table-toppers Scotland and securing their place in the Qualifier.

World Cup record

Oman have never played in an ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup before. They achieved ODI status in April 2019, playing their first One-Day International against Namibia.

They have twice featured in ICC Men’s T20 World Cups, in 2016 and 2021. They served as joint hosts in the latter and were knocked out in the group stage on both occasions.

One to Watch

Bilal Khan has played all but one of Oman’s ODIs and was involved in all of his side’s League 2 matches, ending as the highest wicket-taker across the competition.

The left-arm medium pacer took 76 wickets across the campaign, with three five-wicket hauls and an average of just 18.67.

When are they playing?

Oman begin the Qualifier against Ireland on June 19. They then play United Arab Emirates (June 21), Sri Lanka (June 23), and Scotland (June 25).